


The Academy: Despair in SNORKJAGO

by Spectre_Cainus



Series: DR Ninjago AU [3]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Gen, M/M, i don't know which character has the worst potty mouth but i'm guessing blake/shade, if no, if you are okay with swears, only with SNORKS, please read the main fic, same thing as the main fic, this is what you want to read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-01-19 19:21:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 63,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12416424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spectre_Cainus/pseuds/Spectre_Cainus
Summary: Wu’s Academy for Gifted Individuals is SNORKJAGOS's most prestigious school for students who are the top in the field they specialise in. However, as of late, there have been many conflicts between the two brothers who run the school regarding how the school is to be handled.Amongst the newest batch of Ultimates is Kai Smith, the Ultimate Swordsman. With a new school comes new friendships, new rivalries, and new challenges. Nothing could possibly go wrong in the Academy...At least, that's what Kai thought.(The Swear Free version of the main fic. Any and all swears will be replaced with SNORK.)





	1. Snork: Office Hours

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Academy: Despair in Ninjago](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8434519) by [Spectre_Cainus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spectre_Cainus/pseuds/Spectre_Cainus). 



> Welcome to the DR SNORKJAGO AU.
> 
> Most of the information can be found on my tumblr at griffin-turner, all tagged with #DR Ninjago AU. Said blog is not guaranteed swear-free.
> 
> This is a swear-free version of the actual fic, and will update alongside the main fic. Any swears will be replaced with SNORK.
> 
> Chapter 1 and 2 are rewrites, however I will not post the link to the old versions here. Because I'm too lazy to SNORKify the draft.
> 
> Let's have some good SNORKing times together, alright?

The soft ticking of the clock resounded through the room, reminding the staff present of their remaining deadlines. Sounds of frantic typing and writing filled the air, just like every other day before the start of the new school year at Wu's Academy for Gifted Individuals.

A man in a grey dress shirt readjusted his tie, the former Ultimate Psychologist tapping his foot impatiently as he glanced at his watch for the third time that minute. After a few more seconds, he let out a frustrated sigh, before slamming his head against his desk. His partner, the former Ultimate Actor, cast him a concerned look when he let out a loud groan.

"Something the matter Neuro?"

Neuro checked his watch once again. Looking at it was much better than looking at his protégé's choice of clothes, in his opinion. "Purple doesn't go with brown," he told her in the past.

And yet there she was, in brown pants and a clashing purple shirt. Complete with white kneesocks. With another sigh, he forced himself to look at her. "He's late, Chamile. Very, very late."

Chamile grabbed her mug of coffee, gently brushing her purple bangs out of her eyes as she took a sip of the bitter substance. She smacked her lips, savouring the taste. "Well, he may run fast, but his sense of punctuality is virtually non-existent…"

Just as she was about to continue, the door to the staff room swung open with a loud crash. A man in aviators ran in, a bunch of brown manila folders clutched tightly in his hands. "S-sorry I'm late guys," he panted, readjusting his aviators, "but the bus broke down so I had to run the rest of the way here…"

"You could have called and told us you would be late." Neuro tapped the surface of his watch for emphasis, careful not to hit the crack on the side. "Then we wouldn't have been kept waiting like this."

The newcomer dropped the folders onto Neuro's desk, leaning against it as he tried to catch his breath. "I wasn't supposed to be late! There was this old lady whose cat got stuck in a tree and I stopped to get it down but the stupid feline scratched me and—"

Neuro grabbed the other man by his track jacket's collar, pulling him closer. "Turner," he hissed in annoyance, "You will now do everyone in this room a favour by going back to your cubicle and sitting the SNORK down. Got it?"

"I…"

"Neuro, give him a break." Chamile tapped Neuro's hand lightly, prompting him to let go of the other man. She quickly turned her attention to the newcomer, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder gently. "I'm so sorry about that, Griffin. He's just nervous about the presentation."

Griffin Turner, the former Ultimate Athlete, shrugged nonchalantly. "It's fine, really. I'll just… go see the nurse to have my wounds patched up, then I'll come back." He looked at Neuro expectantly, his aviators hiding his look of despair when the former psychologist rolled his eyes. "Y-yeah, it's not like they hurt or anything…"

"Griffin, I think it's best that you go see the nurse now." Chamile cast a quick glance at her partner. "I'll talk to Neuro once you're gone."

The former athlete sighed, bowing slightly to the pair before speeding out of the staff room. Once the door slammed shut, Chamile angrily whacked Neuro on the head with a textbook. "Why are you so SNORK SNORKed insensitive?!"

"I don't know what the SNORK you're talking about!" Neuro threw his hands up to block Chamile's final blows, only to snatch the textbook out of her hands and toss it in the opposite direction. The book flew in an arc, before landing loudly on a certain dancer's desk.

"He wanted some concern from you and all you kept doing was push him away!" Chamile yelled. "What kind of former Ultimate Psychologist are you if you don't care about your previous patients?!"

"One who used Turner as a mere stepping stone for his future."

The two stopped their argument, turning to look at the one who had spoken up. The well-dressed man held up the textbook, slamming it down on Neuro's desk with a look of annoyance. "Greetings to you, Brookstone," the former psychologist deadpanned, lowering his gaze to the floor. "Apologies about the book."

"The only one who needs an apology is Turner," Lou Brookstone, the former Ultimate Dancer, replied. "You led him on for… how long? Eight years?" He ignored the warning glare Chamile shot him as he continued to say, "Be honest with me, are you pretending to not know his feelings for you or are you doing a horrible job at rejecting him?"

Neuro fell silent, grabbing his mug of coffee tightly until it broke into pieces in his grip, the shards of ceramic digging into his palm. "This is hilarious coming from you, Brookstone," he snarked, unresponsive to the steaming hot liquid dripping out of his clenched fist. "You're giving me advice on romance? The one who literally destroyed two of his previous relationships with your selfishness?"

Lou flinched when Neuro brought up his past relationships. "You didn't have to stoop that low…"

"I can," Neuro raised his fist, "and I will!" He slammed it down on his desk, sending the papers Griffin had brought in flying. Chamile scambled to pick them up, pausing when she saw something that caught her interest.

"Hey, you two. Cut the bickering for just a sec." Chamile stood back up to her full height, holding out one of the folders and presenting it to them. "Why is Cole's name here?"

Lou's eyes widened in surprise, while a look of horror grew on Neuro's face. "C-Cole? You mean my son, Cole?"

"Chamile, please, don't let him—" Before Neuro could finish his sentence, Lou snatched the folder out of Chamile's hands, ripping the top open and fumbling through its contents.

"Cole Brookstone… outstanding potiential… illegal competitions…" Lou started trembling as he kept reading the the notes, his breathing getting heavier. "Ultimate… Weightlifter?!"

"SNORK," Chamile hissed under her breath as Lou tackled Neuro to the ground, angrily waving the notes in his face. "Okay, this time it's really your fault, Fox…"

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS GILES?!" Lou grabbed Neuro by the collar, a small whimper escaping the other man's lips. "WEIGHTLIFTING?!"

"I-I can ex–" Neuro was cut off by a loud ringing noise, drawing everyone's attention.

"All staff, please report to the meeting room for the annual reveal of the new batch of students, along with student assignments."

After a moment of hesitation, Lou dropped Neuro with a huff, getting up and dusting himself off. "You better have a good explanation," he growled, "or I'll SNORKing make sure you'll never live to scout again." His threats made, the dancer left the staff room alongside the other teachers, leaving Chamile and Neuro by themselves.

"S-SNORK," Neuro struggled to get up, reaching out for Chamile with his uninjuired hand. "Cam? You there?"

"Right here, Neuro." Chamile gently lifted him up, supporting him by holding his waist. "What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't the one who showed Lou the folders, Cam."

"No, I meant…" Chamile looked at him in confusion. "Why Cole?"

An uncharacteristic smile grew on Neuro's face. "Because Cole deserves to compete in the light, and Lou needs to learn a SNORKed lesson about respect."

Chamile shook her head in disappointment. "Then rig the lottery for him."

"What kind of suggestion is that, Chamile?" Neuro cocked an eyebrow. "You and I both know that only the Headmasters can access the lottery box. We can't affect that drawing's outcome. Besides…"

"Besides?"

"The Luckster's identity was the first one I had," Neuro finished. "This was the first year they drew the Luckster first and… well, I guess they had good reason to."

Chamile sighed, grabbing Cole's notes off the floor. "Yeah. They've been quarrelling more often, right?"

"The worst I've seen in my past six years as a scout. Something about Garmadon stealing Misako from Wu. Which is stupid, in my opinion. You can't steal people…" Neuro took all the folders over from Chamile, looking down at the spot where most of his coffee had dripped onto. He loosened the clenched fist he had held the mug in, groaning softly as whatever remained of the coffee seeped into his wounds. "Ugh, I should have kept my emotions in check..."

Chamile nodded in agreement. "You should have. Now you have a burnt and cut up hand."

"I'll handle that after the meeting." Neuro undid his tie, wrapping it around his hand to hide the wounds. "Scouting first, health second."

Chamile stayed silent as he grabbed the folders and stormed out of the room, her face twisted into an angry scowl.

"If I ever get the chance…" Chamile glanced at the dancer's desk. "I'll make you pay for what you did to my mentor, Brookstone. You can't get away scot-free."


	2. Snork: Successors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snorkified Chapter 2 from the Main Fic.

Chamile peaked into the room, double checking that it was the correct meeting room before stepping inside. Everyone else was seated at their seats, leaving the former actor to scurry over to Neuro's side next to the projector. She cast a quick glance at Griffin, letting out a relieved sigh when the athlete gave her an assuring nod.

"Cam, you're late by twenty seconds," Neuro whispered to his protégé, trying his best to ignore the unwavering stares of the Headmasters. "I already feel half-naked without my tie, the least you could do is show up on time to cover my SNORK."

"Well, I'm sorry." Chamile exchanged positions with Neuro, standing closer to the laptop connected to the projector. "Ready whenever you are."

Neuro took a deep breath, forcing himself to smile with the charm all scouts were taught to have. "Good afternoon, everyone. I am Neuro, the former Ultimate Psychologist and current Talent Scout." He paused for dramatic effect. "And assisting me today will be Chamile, the former Ultimate Actor, or Ultimate Actress, whichever title you prefer, and the Academy's rookie Talent Scout, also known as my protégé by other terms."

"Today, we will be presenting the upcoming batch of students." Chamile changed to the next slide, featuring a large question mark in the middle of a blank slide. "In contrast with the previous years, we will be presenting the Ultimate Luckster first, followed by the rest of the students in alphabetical order, based on their first names."

"This year's Luckster is someone the older staff members will be familiar with." The slide was changed yet again, this time featuring a full-body picture of a young blonde teenager with vibrant green eyes. He wore a green suit with golden accents, accompanied by a pair of dark brown pants and black dress shoes. Several gasps were heard throughout the staff, prompting Neuro to wait for the chatter to die down before resuming the presentation. "This here is Lloyd Garmadon, son of our very own Deputy Headmaster Garmadon, and Head of the Humanities Department, Misako Garmadon."

"One of the Headmasters' son is the next Luckster?" A man in a maroon baseball cap and matching sleeveless shirt shot Garmadon a questioning look. The Deputy Headmaster merely returned the look with a blank stare. "Is that even allowed?"

"The lottery is drawn from a pool containing every single student who is old enough to enter the Academy," Neuro explained, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the surface of the table. "The pool is narrowed down by removing the students who I, and eventually Chamile, had already started scouting when the drawing process was ongoing."

"I know that, but isn't it unfair to include Lloyd? I mean, if he had to join the school, why not the Reserve Course?"

Neuro hesitated, casting an uncertain look at Garmadon. "Well, uh…"

"Following your logic, wouldn't it be unfair for Lloyd to be excluded?" Garmadon glared at the man in the cap, slightly baring his teeth. "If my son is not allowed to join the school due to being my son, isn't it discrimination as well?"

"Mr. Garmadon, I believe there is no need to be aggressive with Gravis," Chamile piped up, cutting the reply from the man in the cap. The former Ultimate Astrophysicist rolled his eyes, resting his head against his propped up arm. "He doesn't teach the main batches often, due to the lack of students under his talent…"

"Can we drop the subject?" Neuro interrupted, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "We should not be fighting with each other over such a minor detail. There are still many other things I have to cover in this presentation."

"Yes, please do continue with the presentation, scouts." Garmadon checked his watch, ignoring the offended glare from Gravis. "I have some personal affairs to attend to after this, and I cannot afford to be late."

"Next on the list is Cole Brookstone." Neuro stopped himself from continuing, anticipating an objection from Lou. To his surprise, the dancer took a sip of his coffee, seemingly oblivious to the presentation going on.

Wu Garmadon, the Headmaster of the Academy, raised an eyebrow at the unnaturally long pause. "Is something the matter, Neuro?"

"I, uh," Neuro fumbled for words. "No? Yeah, nothing's wrong."

"Then resume the presentation."

Neuro sheepishly nodded. The slide changed to show a raven haired boy, his sapphire blue eyes bright with determination. He wore a dark grey hoodie with olive green cuffs, paired with a black pair of trackpants. The soles of his orange sneakers could be seen, although the picture caught him leaning forward slightly.

"Cole Brookstone, Ultimate Weightlifter. Able to lift up to twice his body weight, and has won multiple underground weightlifting competitions. This may not sound like much at the moment, but considering his current age, there is still much room for improvement. Cole is determined, stubborn, and a natural-born leader. He prefers brute force as a solution, although if persuaded, he will choose a more passive option."

"The blessing of youth," Garmadon muttered. "And which teachers will be assigned to him?"

"I'm not too sure about the homeroom teachers' assignments, but I highly recommend Griffin Turner as his main teacher-in-charge, due to their similar talents in the sports department."

Garmadon nodded, before turning to the bearded man beside him. "Brother, do you agree with that suggestion?"

Wu Garmadon, the younger brother of the two, merely hummed in response.

"Take that as a yes, and continue."

"Next up, Jay Walker." A boy in a blue polo t-shirt popped up, his electric blue eyes pratically sparking as he grinned at the camera. He wore a pair of brown goggles, and a pair of dark grey gloves with light grey cuffs. Similar to Cole, he wore a pair of sneakers, although his were the same shade of blue as his eyes. A harness was strapped to his back, a pair of silver-coloured wings extending out from each end.

"This is Jay Walker, Ultimate Inventor. As you can see from his picture, his most famous invention is the pair of wings he his currently wearing. They have been able to enable the user with the ability of flight for short periods of time, although there are a few major tweaks needed. The device has, however, crashed during the test flight I observed while visiting his parents under the guise of a traveller looking for a place to stay for the night."

"That sounds horrible!" A man slightly older than the others cried out, his spectacles sliding off the bridge of his nose. Noticing everyone's eyes on him, he leaned back in his chair, pushing the spectacles back up with an awkward smile. "I-I mean, was he badly hurt after the accident?"

"No, luckily. Just a few scrapes and scratches. This is one of his best qualities, his unwillingness to give up until he achieves his intended goal. Although, he has a bit of a bad habit involving self-depreciation, he's able to keep up a very cheerful attitude, with a small pinch of humour. Anothe bad habit is his… screaming, but I assure you it is only a mere annoyance."

"Ah, I see." The man tapped the cap of his pen against the table, seemingly deep in thought. "If you have not assigned a main teacher to him, I would love to take him under my wing… pun not intended."

"That's wonderful, Dr. Julien!" Chamile clapped her hands together, a small smile on her face. "Neuro wanted to put Karlof in charge as well, due to Jay's interest in flying. Neither one of you wouldn't mind that, right?"

Karlof, the former Ultimate Aerospace Engineer, shook his head. "Yes, I do not mind," Julien replied happily. "I was looking for a successor, anyways. Zane is always too busy with his mercenary duties to pick up any advanced skills from me…"

As Julien drifted off, Neuro changed the slide yet again. Now a brunette with spiky hair showed up on screen, his orange eyes burning brightly with a fire within. One strand of hair stuck out at angle, standing out even further in the mess of hair. He wore maroon shoulder guards with gold accents, a red shirt underneath. In his hand, he brandished a silver katana, the grip held tightly in his gloved fist. A brown scabbard hung from his brown belt, holding up a pair of dark red pants. Brown sneakers finished the look, matched with white socks.

"Kai Smith. I'll buy whoever guesses his talent first a cookie from the cafe."

"The Ultimate Hairstylist?" Griffin jokingly suggested, prompting the other staff members to break out into laughter.

Neuro glared at the athlete, his smile growing stiff. "Very funny, Turner. Kai is the Ultimate Swordsman. His prowess in swordsmanship is unparalleled, and he has won several well-known competitions during his previous years of training. He is cocky, however, which makes him the perfect match for you, Turner."

"Wait, so I have two students in my care?"

"Yes. Although for Kai, I was hoping Brookstone would be able to help with his footing. I noticed him to be a tad unbalanced when he loses his focus."

The dancer did not reply, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Um, Lou?" Chamile shot him a nervous look. "Is something wrong?"

"You two are  **SNORK** **ING CRAZY!** " Lou threw his cup of coffee at Neuro, hitting him with a loud crack. The former Ultimate Psychologist let out a strangled cry, before collapasing on the floor.

"Norman!" Griffin sprung out of his chair, craddling Neuro in his arms. He growled at Lou when he took a step closer, baring his teeth at the dancer. "Back off!"

"Oh please, that SNORKer doesn't care about you. How much longer are you going to waste your time on him?"

Griffin hesitated, prompting Chamile to step between them. "Watch your SNORKed language, Lou."

"First, you don't tell me about Cole tarnishing the family name. Then, you give him a spot as an Ultimate. And now you're asking me to help you SNORKs?!"

**_"LOU BROOKSTONE!"_ **

Wu slammed a fist against the table, silencing everyone in the room. Lou stared at the Headmaster, a look of boredom on his face. "What."

"You are to apologise this instant."

"Fine." Lou knelt down to face Neuro. "SNORK off."

Chamile scowled at him, the look of distain growing stronger. "That's not a SNORKed apology, and you know it."

"I don't owe him anything."

There was a sudden flurry of movement, ending with Lou pinned against the table by Julien. "You. Me. Outside. Now." The former Ultimate Robotics Engineer looked up at the Headmasters, his frustrated frown dissolving into an unnervingly calm and peaceful smile. "Apologies. I will make sure Brookstone no longer gives us any more trouble." With that, he dragged Lou out of the room, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Everyone, please return to your seats." Wu took a deep breath to calm himself. "Chamile, prop Neuro up on his chair. We can't letting him out of our sights for now, so this will have to do. And pleae continue the presentation."

Chamile did as she was told, sighing as she grabbed Neuro's presentation notes. "Let's see, we were done with… Kai? Yeah, uh, next student."

A girl with yellow-orange eyes appeared on screen, her red hair flowing majestically behind her. She was in an orange dress, her footwear hidden. "This is Skylor Chen," Chamile read off the script, still shaken from the sudden burst of aggression from Lou. "Ultimate Spy. Something something fall of society if talent used wrongly, daddy's girl."

"Miss Fox, please be more detailed with the presentation."

"I can't read Neuro's handwrititng, okay? Too much cursive, and he literally wrote 'something' in some of the previous sentences!" Chamile angrily shook the papers in the air. "It mentions Lou again, and something about me and him monitoring her progress… with Paleman and Tox…"

Garmadon facepalmed, letting out an annoyed groan. "Fine. Just read whatever you can read. We'll talk to him later on, after he's recovered."

"Sorry, everyone." Chamile changed the slide again. A blonde boy, older than the others on the previous slides, was the center of attention, his icy blue eyes shielded by a pair of shooting googles. He wore a Kevlar vest, a pale blue t-shirt underneath. In his hand he held a gun, pointed in a different direction from the camera. "Zane Julien, the final student and the Ultimate Marksman. Julien's son, something something guns, best accuracy something, sharpshooter."

"Wow, you really need to look at his notes more often…" Griffin muttered softly, his gaze on Neuro. "Then again, he always loved improvisation…"

"It says 'Shade' here. That's it." Chamile dropped the script down on the table. "And that's the end of the presentation. Neuro will pick it up when he recovers."

* * *

"You attacked him!"

"I know."

Julien screamed in frustration, kicking over a dustbin. "SNORK SNORKING SNORK IT BROOKSTONE! Can you reflect on your actions for once and accept that you were in the wrong?!"

Lou gripped the cup of water in his hand tighter, some of the clear liquid spilling out. "I wasn't in the wrong. They hid information concerning me for weeks, and they still want me to help them teach some orphan learn to keep his balance."

"Some or–" Julien cut himself off, shooting a disgusted look at Lou as he stepped closer to whisper into his ear, "Brookstone, watch what you say about others."

"I'll say what I want," Lou hissed back, "whenever I want."

Julien was taken aback, shock evident on his face. "Lou, how could you say such things?"

"The last guy I know who lost his parents ended up a cocky kid who's in love with someone incapable of caring." Lou looked out of the window in the office, watching a pair of grosbeaks perch on the branch nearest to the window.

"Strange," he thought to himself, "those birds aren't native to Ninjago."

"Turner lost his family while he was in the Academy. Kai lost his while he was three. There is a difference, and you and I both know the Smith Siblings." Julien followed Lou's gaze to the grosbeaks. "Are you birdwatching while I am trying to give you a serious lecture?"

Lou shook his head slightly. "No, but those aren't native here, right?"

"Grosbeaks? Not really." Julien crossed his legs. "You are more likely to see a cuckoo bird than a grosbeak, but I believe there is a reason why those two made their appearance here."

Lou eyed Julien with interest, his rage from before overtaken by curiosity. "Are they an omen?"

"Grosbeaks, I heard, represent family dynamics." Julien watched as a raven swooped in, scaring the smaller birds away. "And ravens, despair."

"So despair's going to break a family apart?"

Julien shrugged, distracted from his lecture by the raven cawing loudly at then. "I said it was just speculation. Besides," he glanced at Lou, "you do not believe in such silly superstitions, do you?"

"Sometimes they're true," Lou replied. "I mean, there's always a reason why these interpretations arise."

"And speaking of family dynamics."

"Son of a SNORK."


	3. Snork: The Weightlifter

Night had fallen over Ninjago. For most, now would be the perfect time to rest and reflect on the day's events. For others, the best part of the day was in full swing. And for Neuro and Chamile... their work had just begun.

First on the list was Cole Brookstone, who was to receive the letter personally. Luckily for the scouts, only one competition was being held that night, in one of the shadier parts of the city. 

"Ugh, I can see why Lou wouldn't want his son hanging out around places like this." Chamile cautiously tilted her glass of water, watching the brown liquid barely reach the halfway mark of the glass. "Is this even water? I'd rather drink out of a toilet than this… thing." 

Neuro put a finger to his lips, as he broke open the lock to the resting area for the competitors. He dragged her away from the table they had been sitting at, and in absolute silence, the scouts snuck in, sticking to the shadows as they searched for the teen they were looking for. It was not long before security guards noticed the broken lock, cutting off the most convenient method of escape for the scouts.

"SNORK, they actually hired good security? That's an improvement from last time." Neuro sighed, dragging his partner into the nearest broom closet. She gave him a questioning look, before he clarified, "I was here before to scout Skylor. She was sent here to dig up information on the previous owner, which explains why the bar finally has security..."

Footsteps grew louder in volume as someone outside approached the closet. The scouts held their breath, expecting a guard to throw them out as soon as they were spotted.

Lady Luck was gracious that fateful night, as not only was the person not a guard, but he was also Cole Brookstone, the teen they were searching for. He did not seem to pleased to find the two of them in the closet, however 

"Hi Cole," was the best the two scouts could offer.

"What are you guys doing here? I know you two are still in the closet, but this is taking the metaphor too far!" Cole snickered slightly at his joke, before returning to his serious demeanour. "But jokes aside, neither of you are supposed to be here. How did you even find me?"

"The answer to your question is some lock picking and the powers of a talent scout." Neuro straightened his tie before stepping out of the closet, stepping closer to Cole. "I'll leave the main reason for coming to see you out for the moment. First, you have to sneak Chamile and I out of here before the guards find us."

Cole grinned, flexing slightly before immitating a fighter's stance. "Who said anything about sneaking?" 

On cue, two guards came running down the hallway, charging right at the exposed scouts. Cole lunged towards the closer one, sweeping at his legs. The guard fell forwards, landing on a sharp piece of glass which had been thrown carelessly on the floor. Blood dripped from the wound as he curled his injured hand into a fist. His partner swung a punch at Cole, successfully hitting him in the face. The weightlifter fell onto the floor, narrowly missing another cluster of glass shards.

Chamile reached into the broom closet, pulling out a damp mop and a broken rake. She passed the mop over to Neuro, before using the handle of her makeshift weapon to knock the grounded guard unconscious.

Her partner, on the other hand, was being confronted by a group of thugs who had snuck backstage, all eager to pick a fight with the smaller man. He swung the mop in front of him in an attempt to look menacing, resulting in laughter from the thugs. It was not long before the mop was taken from him, snapped in half like a twig by a thug who wore an eyepatch. With Chamile still busy with the other guard, Neuro was left to defend himself with nothing but his wits and talent. He looked back at the contents of the closet, quickly finding what he was looking for: a wooden handle that once was part of a broom, and a box of nails. He assembled a rough weapon, nails pointing out in different directions from the complete end of the handle.

Before he had a chance to retaliate, however, Cole got back up and punched the thug closest to Neuro right in the face. He landed awkwardly, falling to his knees as soon as he touched the floor. The rest of the thugs slowly closed in on the teen, ready to avenge their fallen comrade.

For the second time that night, luck was on their side. Somewhere upstairs, the blaring of a siren could be heard. The thugs and remaining security guard grabbed their allies and made a run for it, leaving the trio to their own devices. Without any hesitation, the scouts picked up the injured teen and ran out of the building as fast as their legs could carry them. 

* * *

One visit to the emergency room later, Cole and the two (slightly traumatised) talent scouts were resting at the hospital's coffee shop. Another stroke of luck had occured, with the Ultimate Doctor on shift that night. They had promised the scouts to keep mum about Cole’s visit and condition, and gave them some extra supplies in case his injuries got worse. Now, the teen's black and green hoodie had small traces of blood, mostly around the sleeves and hood. His orange shoes had also been caked in blood, however the trio had stopped by the toilets to wash off as many of the bloodstains as they could. While the white soles still had faint traces of red, overall the shoes were blood-free.

"So, what was it that you guys wanted to talk to me about?" Cole stirred his hot chocolate nonchalantly, as if oblivious to the fact that he had nearly lost his life a few hours ago in a fight.

Remembering the reason they had looked up the young weightlifter in the first place, Chamile fumbled for something in her bag, pulling out the now-crumpled envelope. “This is for you, Cole. Wu instructed us to make sure you receive it straight from us. Go ahead, I think you’d be happy with the contents.” 

As instructed, he hesitantly opened up the envelope, quietly reading the letter sealed within to himself. “Let’s see… ‘Wu’s Academy for Gifted Individuals is proud to have you, Cole Brookstone, as one of the newest Ultimates. Your title is the Ultimate Weightlifter, and we hope to see you tomorrow at the orientation ceremony, a party where you will be introduced to your teachers and fellow classmates before the start of your lessons the following week.’ Wait,” he looked at the two scouts, “is this real? My dad, the former Ultimate Dancer, was part of this school once! To be accepted into the same high class school as your dad, well, that’s amazing! Thank you, thank you both!” He stood up, bowing deeply multiple times.

The scouts gave him weary smiles, silently hoping that a certain dancer’s rage would have long subdued.


	4. Snork: The Marksman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uhhhhhh yall miss out on a good onichan joke because swear
> 
> also if you haven't noticed by now, there's no actual chapter summaries because i'm lazy to snork them
> 
> handsnorking is serious business, okay?

“Alright, it’s one in the morning, which means we’ve still got around six hours to send out the remaining… five letters,” Chamile slumped back in her chair, taking a noisy gulp of her coffee before throwing the container at the nearby trash can. “If we set off now we can either go and find Dr Julien’s house or Chen’s house and drop off the letter.”

Cole perked up at the mention of Julien’s name. “You guys are going to see Zane? Can I tag along?”

“Well, the ‘visit' is actually supposed to be us dropping off the letter in their letterbox, so there’s nothing interesting that will happen,” Neuro drank from his cup of milk before adding, “but if you really want to, you can come as well. Just don’t interfere with anything and you should be fine.”

Cole nodded quietly. As they waited for Neuro to finish his drink, Chamile decided to ask Cole about his relationship with the marksman. “So, you know the younger Julien? How did the two of you meet?”

“Zane and I were in the same middle school. He was my senior, and from what I recall he set up the shooting club before leaving the school without any reason. We were pretty close, since he didn’t have many friends from his own cohort. What’s he in for?” 

“Ultimate Marksman. Rumours say that he can shoot an apple off the top of someone’s head blindfolded.”

“I’ve seen him do it, and from the roof of the school building, no less. I heard someone even tried to mess with him by spinning him around several times and he still made the shot.”

They lapsed into silence once again, no one moving until Neuro finally got up to throw his cup away. “We have six hours. Let’s get started with the Zane Julien first.”

“We’ll have to go to the shooting range, though.” Cole interjected, ignoring the confused look from the older scout. “Zane doesn’t stay at home at night, so our best bet is somewhere he visits often. He said that his dad’s projects often keep him awake, so he waits until his dad’s done before going back to get as much sleep as he can.”

“Alright then, why don’t you lead the way?”

* * *

 Much to the scouts’ dismay, the shooting range was a thirty minute taxi ride away from the hospital, forcing them to reconsider which student they were going visit next. As they entered the building, they could hear the sounds of guns firing at the human-shaped paper targets. The scouts followed Cole as he walked to the end of the range, approaching a young man who was currently assembling a rifle from parts arranged neatly on a table nearby.

“Hey Zane,” Cole gave the older male a friendly wave. “How’s it going?”

Zane shot him a tired look. “When you’re living with two robotic copies of yourself, both having followed you to the place that you’d rather not have them ever show up in, and a roboticist who stays up all night making robots which blow up the next morning, how exactly am I supposed to reply to that question?” He put down the rifle, before smiling and ruffling Cole’s hair gently. “I am fine, however. I see that you, on the other hand, are not doing well.” 

Cole laughed, before asking, “So, I’m guessing Echo and Titanium are here too?” Neuro gave a quiet cough, trying to remind Cole of their existence. The weightlifter rolled his eyes, before introducing the scouts with a sigh. “Oh yeah, this is Neuro and Chamile. They’re here to give you a letter.”

“I know who they are, Cole. Former Ultimate Psychologist, former Ultimate Actor, and talent scouts for Wu’s Academy. If they’re here to see me, that means I’ve been accepted into the Academy, have a title, and will be invited to the orientation ceremony which starts at nine-thirty. Letter please,” the marksman held his hand out, muttering a quiet ‘thank you’ as Chamile gave the envelop to him. He sat down on the steel stool, reading the contents in silence.

Suddenly, a bullet shot past and embedded itself in a wall, narrowly missing Neuro. “What the SNORK?” The scout looked around frantically, trying to find his would-be murderer.

Two pairs of glowing eyes peaked from behind the lockers, growing dimmer as a duo of robots who looked strikingly similar to Zane stepped out into the open. The shorter one, with golden eyes and a bronze colour scheme, started rapidly apologising to the scout as the taller robot calmly placed a shotgun into the pile of parts on the table. Cole laughed again, as if oblivious to the near-death experience the scout had just experienced.

“Zane, maybe you shouldn’t give guns to your ‘brothers’ before you teach them how to handle them safely.” 

“I know,” Zane muttered, petting the taller robot as he put the now-opened letter down on the table. “Echo, please do not touch any of my firearms unless I grant you explicit permission to.”

The bronze robot bowed. “Understood, brother.”

“And Titanium, please help me return the reject pile to the counter. Make a note for this pile: reloading time takes too long, some of the parts jammed, and the others are just too heavy to be efficient for actual use on the battlefield. Remind me to never try out those parts and gun models again.”

“Noted, brother.” The taller robot nodded, pale blue eyes glowing as they processed the information and saved it in his memory banks. “Is there anything else you would like me to do?”

Zane shook his head, taking his bag from the table and slinging it over his shoulder. Picking up the letter once again, he waved goodbye to Cole and the scouts. “Thank you for the letter. I will be at the ceremony tomorrow, and I hope the three of you will have a goodnight’s sleep before it commences. Echo, Titanium, it’s time to go home.”

“Yes, brother,” both robots replied in unison as they waved goodbye to the trio. 

Just before they left, Cole ran up to the three and stopped them. “Hey Zane, could I ask you for a favour? You see, Chamile and Neuro need to go visit the other students to give them their letters as well. Could you give us a lift?”

Zane paused, turning back to look at the weightlifter. “Of course, Cole,” he turned to address the scouts, “and where does the next student reside?”

“Uh,” the scouts quickly discussed between themselves about something, before Chamile replied, “how about Jay Walker? Does he live near here?”

“Yes, Walker lives down the road, actually.” Zane shivered at the mention of the inventor’s name. “Just a warning, though, he doesn’t like having his sleep interrupted. He might be grumpy if he answer the door. And by grumpy, I mean that he might have some choice words for the three of you.”

“The three of us? Aren’t there six people here?”

“Yes, there are four humans and two robots. However, only three of the humans will be knocking on Walker’s door tonight as the rest of us do not have a death wish. Trust me, you do not want to be on the receiving end of a tired Jay Walker when he starts to talk.” Zane pulled out a set of car keys, shaking them gently before walking out of the building, his two robot replicas following close behind.

Cole, Chamile and Neuro shrugged in unison, before exiting the gun range as well. 

* * *

None of them noticed the hooded figure who was following them all this while. They quickly retreated back into their car, pulling out a walkie talkie they watched the scouts and weightlifter join the marksman and company in his own car. “Yes, sir. They’re on their way to the inventor’s house,” he spoke into the device.

"Wonderful. Servant, continue following them until the scouts return to their own homes. Make sure that neither of them escape your sight.”

Servant pulled off his hood, watching the scouts’ mode of transport start to drive off. They gripped tightly to the steering wheel, before replying, “Understood, Master.”


	5. cole's a barbie girl, in a barbie world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> actual chapter name is Cole's Wonderful Car Ride btw
> 
> *holds a mop*
> 
> mop pls lov me

“Well that was anti-climactic,” Cole muttered to no one in particular as he and the scouts walked back to Zane’s car.

Despite Zane’s warnings about the inventor’s possible tantrum, the one who answered the door was Mr. Ed Walker, Jay’s father. He had taken the letter, promising to pass it to Jay as soon as he returned from his trip to the local hardware store. His partner, Mrs. Edna Walker, also gave them some pie before sending the trio on their way.

As they approached, Echo ran towards them and hugged Cole tightly. “Welcome back! How was your visit?” The robot smiled brightly, gold eyes glowing softly.

“He wasn’t in, but we passed the letter to his dad. Should work,” Chamile spoke between mouthfuls of pie, prompting Neuro to roll his eyes in embarrassment at his junior’s lack of professionalism. “Where’s your older brother?”

“Right here,” Zane stepped out of the car, shooting glasses in hand. “Where to next? Father will likely be done with his project in an hour or so, and I would like to get some sleep before the ceremony tomorrow, so I could drive you to one more student’s place of residence before I will have to take the three of us home.”

Neuro hummed quietly, before asking, “Well, whose house is closer, Lloyd Garmadon’s or Kai Smith’s?”

“The Smith's apartment is quite far away from here. However, I’m not sure about where this ‘Lloyd Garmadon’ stays. Do you have their address?” Zane wiped the lens of his glasses with a soft piece of cloth, before putting them on again with a satisfied hum. 

Neuro pulled Lloyd’s letter out of Chamile’s bag, passing the envelope over to the marksman. He looked at the address written on the cover, sighing as he returned it to the scout. “Well, their house is quite far from here as well. In comparison with Kai’s address, however, this ‘Lloyd’ is closer to our current location. If the three of you are ready, we can set off immediately.”

The trio nodded, waiting patiently as Zane helped Echo into the back seat before following the robot into the car. As soon as all six of them were seated with their seat belts on, Zane started the ignition and pressed his foot against the accelerator.

* * *

“They’ve started driving again, sir.”

“Any idea who they’re going to visit next?”

"Not yet, sir. Though considering they were at Walker’s earlier on, I would guess either Kai Smith or Lloyd Garmadon.”

"Excellent. Keep up the good work, and I’ll be sure to keep up my end of the bargain.” 

* * *

“Seriously? This is the third red light we’ve had in a row!” Cole slammed his uninjured hand on the side of the driver’s seat, causing Titanium to shift away from beside him. “Zane, can’t we just drive past it?”

“This is why your father refuses to let you drive, Cole. Everyone knows you are supposed to stop at a red light as it is the law.”

“Screw the law, just floor it! Here, give me that!” Cole reached for the steering wheel, failing as Zane slapped his hand away.

“Cole Brookstone! Get your hands away from the wheel or I will personally throw you out of my car!” 

“He’s right, Cole. Sit down,” Chamile, having finished her share of the pie, yanked the weightlifter’s hood backwards and into his seat.

“No! Let me go!”

* * *

“They’re awfully noisy, sir. The microphone in the female scout’s bag is working wonderfully, although not in the way you might have intended for it to be used.”

“I can hear them too. Any idea where they’re going to?”

“Still no clue, sir.”

“Ugh. Keep following them.”

* * *

“Titanium, this is the third time we’ve played that! Can we please change the song?”

“No.”

"Zane?”

"No.” 

* * *

“They’ve been playing ‘Numb’ for the past twenty minutes, sir.”

“Diabolical motherSNORKers. Keep following them.”

"I’ve determined who they’re going to visit, though. It seems to be Lloyd.”

“Good job, Servant. One thing, though: turn the SNORKed walkie talkie off unless you have something to report from now on. If I hear another stupid Linkin Park song, I swear that I’m going to kill someone.”

“Understood, sir. I apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

* * *

“Are we there yet?”

“Almost, Miss Chamile.”

“Good, I can’t wait to get out of this car and breathe in some fresh air,” the younger scout stretched slightly, hitting Neuro in the process. “Oops, sorry about that.”

“It is fine. Titanium, how much time do we have left?” The older scout rubbed his eyes, having fallen asleep as soon as they had set off.

“Approximately five hours until seven,” he swatted Cole’s hand away from the radio, “and that is the twentieth time you’ve tried to change the song, Mr. Brookstone.”

“I’ll never be able to listen to ‘Barbie Girl’ ever again,” the weightlifter grumbled, resisting the strong urge to smash the titanium robot’s head with his bare hands.

“We’ve arrived,” Zane killed the engine, waking up Echo before stepping out of the car. The rest of the party followed, looking at that gates that stood between them and the large mansion which belonged to the Garmadons. “I assume you will be meeting with a spoiled brat?”

“Hey, remember that this kid will be in our class with us. If he finds out you said that, he’ll probably have his uncle put us in detention since he’s the Headmaster.” Cole stifled a giggle, before bursting out in laughter. “Imagine! ‘Uncle! These two people said mean things about me! Send them to your office and have them expelled!’” 

Zane chuckled, before turning his attention to the two scouts. “I will have to go back soon. If this visit is fast enough, I should be able to drive you to Kai’s apartment before I return home.”

They nodded in unison, before Chamile approached the guard at the gate and asked for the older Garmadon. The guard shook their head, before taking the letter from her hands and walking back to his post. The scout turned back to the group, shrugging slightly as she walked back to them. “They said that the Deputy Headmaster’s out, and that Lloyd’s asleep. But considering that Garmadon was at the meeting, I’m sure he’ll wake Lloyd up in time for the ceremony. Or maybe Misako will, but the main point is that he’ll likely be present. Maybe.”

“Wonderful,” Neuro replied, still sleepy from his nap in the car. “We should probably go find Kai Smith now. To deliver the letter. For him. His letter.”

Chamile dug through her bag, pulling out the remaining two envelopes and waving them in front of her senior’s face. “We still have Skylor Chen, remember? How are we going to deliver both of their letters in time?”

Zane snickered, pulling out his phone from his back pocket. “Trust me, I know just the way to get both of them in the same place,” he boasted as he started typing away at the device, “I have just the friend who’s willing to do that. Just a quick promise here and… done. Hop in, we’re going to crash a party.”

“A party?” The trio gave him confused looks, as he climbed back into the vehicle.

“Well, a more accurate term would be ‘SNORKblocking’, but ‘crashing a party’ sounds less vulgar. Now get in.”

* * *

“They’re going to see Kai Smith and Skylor Chen next,” Servant whispered into the walkie talkie, crouching behind a tree as they waited for the guard to return to their booth, before sneaking back to their car.

“Excellent. Did the guard allow them access to the mansion?” The voice on the other end of the walkie talkie inquired.

Servant looked at the guard, who had fallen asleep at their desk. “No, and they are currently asleep, sir.”

Laughter. “Wonderful! Servant, my plan is almost complete! From now onwards, I want you to kill anyone who resembles a member of security, or a police officer. You know the kind I’m talking about.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Starting with that guard over there.”

“I beg your pardon, sir?" 

“I have cameras all around. Remember that, Servant. Now kill them and hide the body. We can’t have Misako––or any of the residents––finding the body. At least, not now. There’s a knife in the glove compartment, and a gun in the trunk. It’s up to you how you want to off them.” A yawn. “All this talk is making me tired. I trust that you know what to do with them?”

“Affirmative, sir.”

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow, after  _it_  starts. You know where to find me, so goodnight.” The walkie talkie turned itself off, leaving Servant to quietly stare at the sleeping guard.

With a sigh, they pulled out the knife from its hiding place and made their way over to the booth.


	6. snooooooooooooork six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yes, i can't take this snork fic seriously
> 
> more reasons to read the real fic and/or just ignore everything here and read the story part

“What’s up SNORKs,” Cole kicked down the door to the apartment, startling the three teens who were sitting on the couch. “We’re here with guns and two robots so get the SNORK off the couch.”

“Cole? What the SNORK?” The brunette, who had fallen off the couch, gave the orange-clad teen on the couch confused dirty look. “I thought this was a private party, Sky! Why did you invite him? And… all of those people?”

“Hello Miss Smith, we’re here to take everything and everyone you love away from you,” Chamile imitated a gun with her hands, pretending to shoot at them. “Starting with your brother. Bang bang.”

“My brother? Kai, what did you do this time?” The short-haired girl, noticeably younger than the rest, shook her head in disappointment. Her maroon eyes focused on the group of intruders, asking with a hint of interest, “Who are you people, by the way?”

“My name is Neuro, and this is my junior, Chamile. We’re–”

“Scouts for Wu’s Academy. The guy with the hoodie is Cole Brookstone, Ultimate Weightlifter. The one with the shotgun and two robotic copies of himself behind him is Zane Julien, Ultimate Marksman. The silver robot is Titanium Zane, the bronze robot is Echo Zane. Both were created by Dr. Julien, while the human Zane was overseas. Correct?” The redhead snickered at the shocked look on their faces. “I knew it. Skylor Chen, the Ultimate Spy, I presume? And on the floor is Kai Smith, the Ultimate Swordsman? Oh, and the girl over there is Nya Smith, Kai’s sister. Now give us the good stuff.”

Neuro coughed slightly, caught off guard by Skylor’s wealth of information. He took the letters from Chamile before passing them over to their respective recipients. “You are correct,” he muttered with slight annoyance, “both titles are the correct ones. I see you have been doing some research behind our backs, Miss Chen, but I do hope you are aware that this information was meant to be private, and the consequences will be dire should anyone else find out you’ve stolen this information.”

The spy hummed in agreement, before tearing open the envelope and taking out the invitation. Kai, still lying on the floor, did the same for his letter. As they read their letter, Nya gave an awkward wave to the scouts. Noticing Titanium and Echo stepping out from behind their ‘brother’, she quickly turned her attention to the two robots. “Wow, actual robots! Hey there, I’m Nya! Can you speak?”

Echo catiously approached the girl, gold eyes filled with curiosity. He opened his mouth to speak, however, before he was able to say anything, his lower jaw fell out of its place, landing on the floor with a clunk. He paused, staring at the faulty piece of himself before picking it up and presenting it to the other robot. The duo stared at the metal chunk, until Zane walked up to them and took the piece way. “Sorry,” he bowed towards the rest of the group, “I believe that it is time for the three of us to return home. As you can see, Echo is in need of some… repairs.”

“It’s alright Zane! I can probably fix it.” Nya ran to her room, coming back with a toolbox. “I’m good with machines, I could probably fix this within an hour or so.”

“Thank you, Nya,” Zane smiled, patting her lightly on the back as he sat down at the dinner table. “Unfortunately, I will need to stay to ensure that he will not be tampered with. Father will not be too pleased with me if he finds out that one of his creations was damaged while under my care.”

“So are all of you going to stay here? Sky, what about our movie night?” Kai looked at the group of uninvited guests in disbelief, sighing as he grabbed the remote and climbed back onto the couch. “Fine, you guys can stay, but you guys have no say in what movie we’re watching.”

“Great!” Cole sat down on the floor, looking up at the swordsman as he messed with the television’s remote. “What are you guys watching?”

“Saw. The sixth one,” Skylor chuckled at the look of shock on Neuro’s face. “What’s the matter, Mister Scout? Don’t like gore?”

“N-no, I’m fine with gore. Let’s get started,” Neuro stuttered slightly, looking over at where Echo and Nya were sitting. “I haven’t watched any of the Saw films, but I’m sure they can’t be too bad. Right?”

* * *

Servant dropped the shovel they were holding, wiping sweat from their brow as they checked the depth of the hole in front of them.

Satisfied with the depth, they dragged the corpse of the guard––now encased within a black body bag––and unceremoniously threw it in.

“A job well done,” he muttered to himself. “Sir would be pleased.”

“Indeed I am!” The walkie talkie crackled to life, scaring Servant. “Aw, did I scare the big, scary, hooded man? Sorry,” they snickered, “I couldn’t sleep. But watching you, digging that hole, it filled me with nothing but despair… I mean, think about it: one day, I’ll be the one digging the hole, and you’ll be the corpse!”

“That’s… wonderful, sir,” Servant whispered into the device, briefly looking around before replying, “are you sure that there are no more guards around the mansion tonight?”

A snort. “Of course I’m sure! You’re armed, so even if there were any guards you’re supposed to shoot them, remember? Geez, sometimes I wonder why I chose you to serve me.”

“I never wanted to serve you.”

“Excuse me? Was that a statement of defiance I heard from you? Oh dear Servant, it’s almost as if you forgot what's at stake here.”

Servant froze. “Don’t you dare hurt them! They’re all innocent!”

“And what if I decide that I want to have a little ‘fun' with them? Your family... or my toys? I’ll be watching you, so don’t you dare try to disobey me…” The voice faded away, leaving Servant alone once again.

They took a deep breath, picked up the shovel, and started to fill the hole back up again. When all of the dirt was back in the hole, Servant knelt down on the damp morning ground and wept.

* * *

“…Is it over?”

“I think so.”

“Good, because it’s six in the morning and we should probably be getting ready for the ceremony,” Skylor yawned, stretching as she stood up and headed towards the door. “I’m going back home to change. See you all later at the Academy.”

Kai followed her, closing the door as she left, and quickly turned his attention to the remaining people in the room. “Alright, get out of my house. I need to get ready too, so please just. Leave.” He threw his hands in frustration, muttering threats under his breath as he walked towards his room and slammed the door shut.

Nya shrugged, putting the finishing touches on Echo’s repairs. “There, all done,” she stated.

“Thank you, Miss Smith!” Echo broke into a smile, hugging her tightly as she laughed. “You have spared my brother from ‘certain doom’!”

Zane interrupted the conversation by clearing his throat loudly. “We should get moving,” he said, getting up from his seat. “We cannot afford to miss the ceremony, especially you two, Chamile and Neuro.”

The younger scout nodded in agreement. “You’re right, we need to get going. Cole, can you carry Neuro back to the car?”

“Yeah, he’s as light as a feather,” the weightlifter held the older scout up like a trophy, showcasing the sleeping scout in all of his glory and emphasising his point.

“Great! Alright, it’s been fun Miss Smith. Thank you and your brother for hosting us tonight, and I hope you will have a good rest later,” Chamile bowed, giving the raven-haired girl a wave as the group left the apartment.

The door closed with a click, and Nya finally let out a sigh of exhaustion. In one swift movement, she packed up her tools into the toolbox and went back into her room.

* * *

“Alright! I’m ready and it’s time to go meet my new classmates! See you around, sis!”

“Kai, are you really going to bring your sword with you?”

“Yes, Nya. Yes I am.”


	7. academy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> summary
> 
> okay jk
> 
> We're getting into the main part of the AU which means  
> 1\. people are going to die  
> 2\. more swearing (SNORKing) and corpses  
> 3\. actually 0 art, because i'm lazy and busy
> 
> what the heck is a free-time segment

Kai Smith, the Ultimate Swordsman, stood before the most prestigious school in all of Ninjago.

Wu’s Academy for Gifted Individuals. The envelope he had received included a pamphlet about the school’s history and a map of the school, along with the invitation to the orientation ceremony. Staring at the looming structure before him, he stood rooted to his spot as he watched students stream in and out of the gates, chatting with each other as they went about their day. Kai, curious about his future in the Academy, decided to approach a student who walked past him, who turned out to be a boy around his age, wearing an eyepatch over his right eye. “Hey there,” Kai gave a friendly smile, “my name’s Kai Smith. My title’s the Ultimate Swordsman, what’s yours?”

The boy glared at him, disdain evident in his eye as he growled at the swordsman. “So you’re one of the new ‘Ultimate’ students, huh? Let’s make this very clear, then,” he growled, pushing his finger against Kai’s chest, “you are an ‘Ultimate’. We are ‘Reserve Course’. The two groups should never, ever, mix. And thus, I suggest you SNORK off.”

“I was just trying to make some small talk, what did I do wrong?” Kai, startled by the boy’s sudden outburst, took a step away from him.

“I want you to remember this name. Cryptor Borg. Someday, the world’s gonna know who I am, and you,” Cryptor smirked, “will be nothing but a footnote at the end of my biography. Goodbye, Mister Smith.” He spat at Kai’s feet, turning to leave, but instead running straight into Zane, who gave the younger teen a confused look. Now blushing, he muttered a soft apology before dashing off towards the car park.

The marksman shrugged, bending down to pick up the textbooks he had dropped. Kai, relieved to see a familiar face, walked over to help him. Before he could reach him, however, a teen came crashing head first into the blond.

“Zane!” Kai dashed over to him, holding now unconscious male in his arms. He turned towards the other teen, who was dressed in blue and wearing a pair of goggles over his eyes. “What the SNORK is your problem?” he yelled. “You could have killed him!”

The brown haired boy dusted himself off, ignoring Kai completely in favour of packing up his winged device into a backpack which he promptly slung over his shoulder. He pulled of the goggles, revealing a pair of electric blue eyes. “Not again,” he muttered to himself, “one more crash like that and I’d be force to build another one from scratch.” He ran off, oblivious to the person he had knocked over and the screaming Kai.

With a groan, the marksman woke up, rubbing his head as he gave a grimace of pain. “It’s fine, Kai,” he forced himself back onto his feet, stumbling slightly as he started to walk towards the gate. “I think it is just a scratch, nothing too serious. Thank you for your help, and I’ll see you later. Have a nice day.”

Alone once again, he stood up, stretching slightly and drawing his sword. “Alright!” He pointed the blade towards the sky, a fire within his amber eyes burning with passion.

“Here’s to a new start!”

* * *

The halls of the building were akin to a labyrinth, each turn leading to a new junction, eventually sending its unfortunate victim back to the entrance. That day, the victim was Kai, stuck in the seemingly endless loop of doors and pathways. After the fifth time he passed the cafeteria, he decided to look for a member of staff to direct him to the gymnasium, where the ceremony would be held. Unfortunately, the hallways seemed to be empty, not a single person present as he continued to roam. With a sigh, he returned to the cafeteria, pushing the giant doors open as he stepped inside. To his relief, there was someone else sitting at the long dining table. The old man had neatly combed brown hair, a small pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. His icy blue eyes were unfocused, staring at the dual doors to the kitchen as he fiddled with a retractable pen in the pocket of his lab coat, humming a soft tune.

“Excuse me,” Kai cautiously approached him, unsure of how to address the older male. “Do you know where the gymnasium is? I’m one of the new students here, and I’m a bit lost.”

The man stopped clicking the button on the pen, returning it to its original position as he turned his entire body to examine the swordsman. The latter stood up straight, not wanting to give a bad impression to a possible teacher. He had worn a simple red shirt, with a matching pair of dark red bermuda shorts and brown shoes. His sword belt held his favourite blade, a katana made by his father prior to his passing. Despite all the years that have passed, the blade was still as sharp as it was from the start, quickly becoming Kai’s go-to weapon for his competitions. As usual, he had his crimson dual shoulder guards, and the matching pair of fingerless gloves Nya had given to him as a present for his sixteenth birthday. Kai had styled his hair the same way as he always did, swept to his right and the stubborn ahoge which refused to be tamed stood out at an angle.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Smith. How have you been?” He gave a friendly smile, confusing Kai as he stood up and walked over to the younger male. “I’m guessing you have forgotten me after all of this time?”

“I, uh, do not believe we’ve met before, sir.”

“You know me as Dr. Julien. I am Zane’s father.”

“…Oh.” Kai blushed, embarrassed for not recognising the former Ultimate Robotics Engineer. Dr. Julien was Ninjago’s most famous roboticist, well-known for his work on Borg Industries’ Artificial Intelligence project, where he designed and built all of the different robots for each attempt. While there were rumours about his possible involvement with criminal groups, a majority of the claims were disproven by his partner, Dr. Cyrus Borg.

Just as Julien was about to react, they were interrupted by the arrival of another man.

He had a similar hair style to Julien, with a darker shade of brown and slightly messier. A pair of red aviators shielded his eyes, matching his red and white track jacket and white track pants. A silver whistle hung from his neck, tied to a thin piece of string. He quickly grabbed a chair, using it to barricade the entrance of the cafeteria. “Phew! Glad that’s over.”

“Mr. Turner, would you care to explain yourself?” Julien was clearly unamused by the athlete’s sudden appearance, crossing his arms and tapping his foot, waiting for a reply.

“Okay so Doc get this I ran into Neuro earlier on and I decided to try and steal that clip-on tie he always wears only this time it was an actual tie and I ended up throwing him onto the ground by accident and I caused him to drop his notes again and since Chamile is busy setting up the stage lights with Pale and Shade there was no one to restrain him and stop him so he started chasing me and then I crashed into Karloff and long story short I now have two very pissed off guys chasing after me.” Griffin Turner, the former Ultimate Athlete, spoke quickly as he added more chairs to the barricade. Not long after he threw the fifth chair into to the pile, loud banging could be heard from the other side of the door. “SNORK, okay you two pretend that you didn’t see me and I’ll be forever grateful. See ya,” he dashed off towards the kitchen, the doors closing behind him as the barricade fell apart.

Neuro, the male talent scout and former Ultimate Psychologist, stepped in, followed closely by a tall man in an apron, wielding a large wrench in his hand like a club. “Karloff,” the scout gestured to the dining table, “turn that over. It’s time we gave Turner the punishment he deserves.”

With a grunt, Karloff approached the table, placing his wrench on the floor gently before lifting the table up with little effort. He growled, placing the table back on the ground. “Griffin not here,” he growled in annoyance, “check kitchen.”

A worried look on Julien’s face caught Kai’s attention. “Follow me,” the roboticist grabbed him by the arm, dragging him out of the cafeteria. “Trust me, you don’t want to be around when Karloff and Neuro lose their temper.”

“Sure, but where are we going?”

“The gymnasium, of course. Where else are you supposed to go?”

* * *

Kai was the last of the batch to arrive. The other students had shown up earlier, gathering in a small group near the refreshments table. Cole noticed the swordsman as he walked closer, waving to him enthusiastically. “Hey, Kai! Over here!”

Immediately, everyone’s eyes were on him, causing the swordsman to slow his approach. When he finally joined the group, he stood around awkwardly, unsure of what to do, since he had already known a few of the students.

“Perhaps we should introduce ourselves with our full name and title, along with some of our interests. I shall start. My name is Zane Julien, and I am the Ultimate Marksman. My hobbies include reading and shooting targets at the local shooting range.”

“Sure, I guess. I’m Lloyd Garmadon, the Ultimate Luckster.” A green eyed boy in a matching green sweater and blue jeans piped up. A few strands of his blond hair fell in his face, prompting him to comb them back with a flick of his hand. “I like eating candy and playing sports.”

Kai went next. “I’m Kai Smith, the Ultimate Swordsman. I enjoy swordfighting and spending time with my sister, Nya.”

“Cole Brookstone, Ultimate Weightlifter,” he flexed slightly. “I cook and exercise in my free time.”

“Skylor Chen, Ultimate Spy. When I’m not busy, I watch horror films and practice my spying skills.”

“And I’m Jay Walker, the Ultimate Inventor!” A familiar voice caught Kai’s attention. “Flying and building things are my favourite hobbies!”

Before Kai could act, Zane placed a gloved hand on his shoulder, whispering with a dangerous tone, “Don’t you dare. It was an accident, and you know it. He’s already apologised.”

“Fine,” the swordsman scowled, moving his hand away from the hilt of his blade.

“Hello there, future students. Are you enjoying yourselves?” Chamile came over, a silver platter with glasses of drinks in one hand. “If you need anything, feel free to approach any of the staff members. We’re going to be with you guys for the rest of your school year, after all.” Cole tried to take a glass, his hand quickly slapped away by the scout. “Sorry, Cole. These drinks have some alcohol in them, we can’t let you teens drink any of it.”

“Whatever,” Cole huffed, turning towards the table to grab a slice of chocolate cake. “The cake’s good enough.”

Suddenly, Chamile tensed. She was looking towards the entrance, where a suit-clad man had just walked in. He was wearing a brown suit, with a maroon vest and white dress shirt. There were bags under his royal blue eyes, and the cane he often brought with him was constantly shaking as he walked.

Lou Brookstone, the former Ultimate Dancer, had arrived.

Cole dropped the cake, landing on the floor with a soft thud. “What’s my dad doing here? I thought he had a show today!” He gasped, entire body trembling as he slowly tried to hide behind Zane.

“This is the show he was supposed to show up for,” Chamile sighed, sensing Cole’s anxiety. Once the dancer started walking towards them, she moved slightly to stand in front of the weightlifter. “Here he comes. I’m sorry we that didn’t warn you, Cole, but don’t worry. I’ll handle this.”

Lou stopped in front of them, glaring daggers at his son. “Hello there,  _students_ ,” he monotoned, not breaking eye contact with Cole.

“Good morning, Lou,” Chamile took a step closer to the dancer, preventing from getting closer to the students. “I’m guessing you didn’t sleep well last night?”

“My sleeping habits are none of your business, Chamile. Could you please let me pass, I need to have a word with my son.” He tried to walk pass Chamile, only for Cole to push her aside, scowling at his father. “Greetings, Cole. I hope you’ve had a fun time  _playing with your friends_  yesterday.”

“Listen,” the weightlifter pressed his finger against his father’s chest. “I’m not afraid of you. You know what my title is? Ultimate Weightlifter. I’ve told you time and time again that I will not follow in your footsteps. I’ve never liked dancing. And I’ll never become your successor, because I’m going to be a professional weightlifter, and that’s that.”

Before Lou had a chance to reply, a bearded old man appeared on stage. He wore a straw hat, lined with metal at the edge. He cleared his throat into the microphone in his hands, drawing everyone’s attention to him. He bowed deeply, before beginning his speech.

“Good morning, my dear Ultimates. As you may know, today is the day we come together to celebrate the entry of the newest batch of students.” He paused as everyone gave him a round of applause. “Thank you all. Students, you may address me as Headmaster Wu. My brother, the Deputy Headmaster, has unfortunately taken ill. When he returns, you will address him as Deputy Headmaster Garmadon.”

“Now, I will announce the names of the students. When your name is called, please come onstage to receive your room key. From now onwards, you will be staying in our on-campus dormitory. You can return home on weekends to visit your relatives, if you wish, but without explicit permission, you are not allowed to stay out past ten o’ clock.”

“The first student is Lloyd Garmadon. He is this batch's Ultimate Luckster.”

Lloyd walked up to the Headmaster, bowing slightly before taking the silver key from him.

“Cole Brookstone, Ultimate Weightlifter.”

Cole growled at Lou, pushing him aside roughly. “We’ll settle this later,” he spat. With a huff, he joined Lloyd as soon as he got his key.

“Jay Walker, Ultimate Inventor.”

“See ya,” Jay stuck his tongue out playfully at the remaining students as he left to get his key.

“Skylor Chen, Ultimate Spy. Zane Julien, Ultimate Marksman.”

Both students left without a word, leaving Kai as the last student to get his key.

“And finally, Kai Smith, Ultimate Swordsman.”

At the mention of his name, Kai puffed up his chest and began walking towards the stage… only to trip and fall due to his shoelaces being tied together. Onstage, Jay snickered slightly. Kai shot him a dirty look as he retied his laces, before grabbing his key from Wu as well.

“This marks the end of the start of the opening ceremony. Now, the former Ultimate Singer and Dancer will perform for us, followed by a magic show with the former Ultimate Illusionist and Shadow Puppet Master. Do help yourselves to the refreshments and drinks, as they are complimentary.”

The group quickly split up, starting with Jay making a mad dash in Dr. Julien’s direction. Skylor and Zane soon returned to their spots at the refreshments table, the latter occasionally looking over to his father as the inventor blabbered on and on to the roboticist, who merely chuckled at his enthusiasm. Lloyd followed Wu backstage, the two of them engaged in what looked like an important discussion.

Kai looked at Cole, giving him a reassuring smile as he pat him lightly on the back. “Be careful,” he said. The weightlifter gave returned the smile, although it quickly vanished as he walked out of the gymnasium, Lou following close behind. The brunet considered following them, but an unexpected yawn told him otherwise. Looking down at the shiny new key in his palm, he eventually decided to return to his room for the rest of the day. Waving goodbye to his fellow batchmates, he followed the instructions Julien had given him on their way to the ceremony. He soon came to a door bearing his name: “Kai Smith”.

“Well,” he thought to himself, “I guess this is it, then. Don’t worry Nya, I’ll make you and our parents proud.”

The dorm room was extremely neat, as if someone had recently cleaned up the room prior to his arrival. Empty shelves stood next to a desk, with a table lamp resting on the surface. A few pieces of blank paper was placed on the desk as well, in case he had any urge to write or draw. On the coffee table rested a golden katana, the hilt extending into a carefully crafted dragon’s head. A few markings on the blade gave the illusion that the dragon was breathing fire. Kai picked up the sword, examining it closely. His thumb found a switch near the base of the dragon’s head, and curiosity got the better of him as he flipped it.

Without warning, the entire blade of the katana caught on fire. Kai nearly dropped the entire weapon, but he quickly located the switch again and flipped it once more. The flames died out, and the startled swordsman placed the sword back onto its stand carefully. Finding a note near the stand, he picked it up and started to read.

_“Hello there, Kai Smith. You might be wondering why this sword was created, or who created this sword. To be completely honest, I am not sure why either. What I do know, is that it is capable of catching on fire without any known reasons aside from the switch near the dragon’s head. Thus, I have named it the ‘Sword of Fire’. There are three other weapons which have similar properties, and they all seem to have originated from the same creator. I hope you will use this weapon for good, and only for good. You will find a matching sheath that can be attached to your current belt under this table. Have a nice day.”_

There was no signature at the end of the note. Kai looked at it once more before crushing it into a ball and tossing it into the trashcan next to the desk. “What a weird thing to have in a room,” he mumbled to himself. Lying down on the king-sized bed in the room, he could not help but feel sleepy as soon as his head hit the pillows. “I’ll ask the headmaster about this tomorrow… but I guess a little sleep never hurt anyone.”

Slowly, but surely, his eyes closed as Kai fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Cole stepped into his room, still filled with rage from the argument he had with his father. “What does he know? I’m the one who made these decisions!” He angrily kicked a table over, knocking the golden scythe that rested on top of it. Once the tip of the scythe hit the floor, it caused a small tremor which knocked Cole back onto his butt.

The raven haired teen picked up the scythe carefully, marvelling at the details present on the weapon. “What the SNORK?” he muttered, turning the scythe around for the third time.

* * *

Jay stared at the teenager in the mirror. It looked like him, but his hair was completely different now. It stood up at awkward angles, giving him the appearance of a hedgehog. He shot the pair on nunchucks resting on the toilet lid an angry glare.

“What did I ever do you offend you?!” he yelled at the weapon.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zane happily laid back on his bed, the Shurikens of Ice tucked under his pillow. His room was now covered with frost and ice, chilled to his favourite temperature.

The whole ‘shurikens producing ice’ thing was weird, but he could get used to that. Especially if it felt this good.

* * *

“Did you deliver the weapons to the four students, Servant?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good. You know when you’ll see me again, so for now we must part.”

“Understood, Master.”

“See you around… Garmadon.”

* * *

Kai jolted awake, his body covered in cold sweat as he looked around the room frantically. Everything looked the same, except for large metal sheets and giant bolts and screws which now covered the places where the windows to the room once was. He was also sure that the large security camera, pointed in his direction, was not supposed to be there as well.

"Good to see you're up and awake, you stupid sword guy! Now get your SNORK down here to the gym for the second part of your orientation ceremony!" A scratchy voice yelled at him via the intercom, catching the teenager off guard. "What's the matter? Forgot how to walk? Well congratulations! I don't care! Get down here right now before I execute you for defiance!"

Kai swallowed nervously as the camera adjusted itself to stare his face.

Something wasn’t right.

* * *

"Upupupu! We have  **twenty**  talented people in our lovely little school at the moment! It would surely be a shame if... something... happened to them... Stay tuned for my grand debut!"  
  
 ** _20 ULTIMATES REMAIN_**


	8. Welcome to the Academy Life of Mutual Killing!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SNORK gets real
> 
> lol remember when i said i'd do freetime events

He was the last person to arrive. Kai quickly surveyed the room, counting the number of people present. Including himself, there were a total of twenty people in the room.

The gymnasium had undergone a drastic change while he was asleep. Metal shutters covered the large windows, held in place by the same large screws and nuts he had seen in his own room. A few of the flags bearing the school’s emblem had been torn up and pasted onto the shutters, the poles from which they hung from thrown in a messy pile near the stage. Some of the flags were stained red, flies buzzing around in swarms. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the podium at the head of the stage, where a monochrome bear was placed on the surface. Its red eye glowed ominously, sending chills down Kai’s spine.

“Finally! Here’s to the Ultimate Latecomer, Kai Smith everyone!” The bear sat up straight, causing the swordsman to jump in surprise. “Now then, let’s begin with a simple introduction of myself. The name’s Monokuma, and you all better remember that! I’m your new Headmaster!”

“Pardon me for interrupting, but if I am not mistaken, Wu Garmadon  _is_  our actual Headmaster.” Zane spoke up, icy blue eyes shielded by his blue pair of shooting goggles. He wore the same outfit he had at worn at the ceremony: a black ballistic vest over a light blue collared shirt with white sleeves, and a pair of long blue pants. The holster he often wore was empty, the handgun being held in his right hand. “I do not think that a stuffed toy is capable of possessing the proper qualifications to usurp the original Headmaster of the Academy.”

“Geez! Didn’t you hear about the cat? Curiosity killed it, and if you don’t shut up and let me continue I’ll have to punish you!” The bear waved its hands in frustration, gesturing towards the marksman. “And I’m not a toy; I’m Monokuma!”

Zane shifted into a balanced shooter’s stance. “You are correct, however satisfaction brought the cat back. Goodbye,” he monotoned, before shooting the bear multiple times in the head. With the added weight of the bullets, it toppled over, falling behind the podium. “Now that it is dead, we should––”

“I’m not done talking, Mister!” Monokuma hopped back onto the top of the podium completely unscathed, causing Zane to drop his gun in shock. “What, did you think a few shots would destroy me forever? You’d wish! I have plenty of back-ups and definitely more copies than you have boxes of ammunition! Also, I’d usually punish you for violating the rules, but I guess I have to make a pass this once since you’re probably grumpy that I woke you up,” the bear sighed, shaking its head in mock disappointment. “Oh yeah, here you go, ungrateful SNORKSs: your Electronic IDs!”

The bear threw a bunch of black devices, one for each person in the room. Kai caught his, and it immediately started, screen showcasing a bunch of information about himself. “Okay, this is getting a little creepy,” he muttered. With a swipe of his finger, the display changed to a numbered list. As he tried to read the small text on the screen, someone else yelled in frustration.

“I can’t read this!” Jacob Pevnser, the former Ultimate Singer, threw his ID on the floor. He clutched his walking cane tightly, frowning in the direction he had thrown the device in. “What are you even planning, and what are you?”

“Ugh, for the third and last time: I am Monokuma! Your new headmaster!”

“He meant it literally,  _Headmaster_ ,” Neuro looked up from the ground, playing with his goatee. “If you’re smart enough to put all of our information in the IDs, how are you unaware of Jacob’s blindness?”

The bear started sweating, looking away from the scout nervously. “Well, I guess I overlooked that fact, that’s all! I’m a robot, built by only the best in Ninjago. And shaped like a bear, for extra cuteness! You know what? I’ll read out the rules instead, just to make sure all of you get it!”

“Rule number one! Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time, so don’t bother trying to escape, ya hear me?”

Silence.

“Geez, tough crowd today! Rule number two: “Night time" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution. And by that, I mean some doors will be locked, like the cafeteria. No midnight snacks!”

“Darn,” someone muttered.

“Rule number three. Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory rooms will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly. This is still an academy, and we can’t have students slacking off!”

“But not all of us are students, a majority of us are staff!” Chamile piped up, the adults murmuring in agreement.

“We can’t have staff slacking off, either! Now will you all stop interrupting me? Rule number four. With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Wu’s Academy for Gifted Individuals at your discretion. Excluding those rooms listed in the ID during Nighttime, of course!”

“Rule number five! Violence against the Headmaster, Monokuma, is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras. You heard that,  _Mister Julien_?”

Zane nodded slowly, refusing to take his hand off the grip of the firearm as he returned it to the holster.

“Good to see that’s settled. Now then, you might be wondering: what does rule number one actually mean? Well, it means you all are trapped here for the rest of your lives!” The robot let out an evil laugh, revealing sharp fangs on the black side of its face. “Now your response is probably going to be something like, ‘We have family! Careers! We can’t stay here forever!’ And to that I say: I don’t care!”

“If you don’t care,” Neuro stared at it, “why did you bring it up in the first place?”

The bear put its paw on its chin, as if processing the scout’s question. “Well, you’re right! I wouldn’t bring up a rule I just stated for no reason at all. This brings me to the sixth rule! Anyone who kills a fellow student, or Ultimate, will be known as the ‘blackened’. Get away with the murder, and you will ‘graduate’, and I will let you leave the Academy!”

A loud uproar soon followed as the words of the ‘Headmaster’ sank in. Kai watched the chaos unfold, quietly tightening his grip on the Sword of Fire, which now hung from his belt alongside his katana. The temptation to cut the bear into pieces was strong, but the idea of ‘punishment’ prevented him from acting.

“Shut up! All of you, right now!” Monokuma growled, exposing sharp claws as he jumped off the podium and sliced a standing flagpole in half. Everyone in the gymnasium fell silent, allowing the robot to continue its speech. “I know you all are concerned about the whole murder thing, so I’ll explain the entire system to you!”

“There’s nothing to explain! You’re asking us to commit manslaughter for freedom!” Dr. Julien, who had been quiet up to that point, yelled at it. “What kind of sick individual would come up with such an idea?”

“Well, you see, killing another person would disrupt the order of our perfect little Academy! So, for each murder, we will have to host a trial. These trials will be named ‘Class Trials’, and attendance is compulsory. In the Class Trials, you will be given time to discuss the case at hand. During that time period, feel free to accuse others, falsify evidence, stall for time, or even start dancing! At the end of the discussions, a vote will be held. If the majority votes for the blackened, then I’ll punish the blackened, and only the blackened! If the majority votes for the wrong person, then I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened! So it’s kind of a hit or miss thing, only that you’ll die if you vote wrongly!” Monokuma sheathed its claws, jumping back onto the podium with a huff. “Oh, and by ‘punishment’, I actually mean ‘execution’. So if you kill someone and get found out, I’ll give you a one-way trip to visit your victim.”

For the second time since it spoke, the entire room was pin-drop silent.

“And the last rule is that there will be more rules in the future if needed. Yup, that’s all from me! Have questions? Too bad! See ya!”

The robot leaped backwards, disappearing behind the podium.

“Well that just happened,” Kai muttered to himself.

* * *

After the robotic bear’s long speech, everyone had gathered in the cafeteria to discuss their next move.

“I say we find its stash of copies and destroy every single one of them!” Shade, the former Ultimate Shadow Puppeteer, slammed his fist against his palm for emphasis. 

Paleman, his partner and the former Ultimate Illusionist, facepalmed in response. “We can’t do that, Shade. Remember, we're stuck in the school until we," he shuddered, "kill someone and get away with it. And it's highly illogical that it would store its backups in a place where we could easily find them."

Jacob raised his hand. "Maybe we should try and reason with the new Headmaster?" he suggested. "He didn't sound that bad, maybe just a tad delusional."

"You're lucky you don't have to see that stupid face of his." Someone muttered out loud.

"Hey!"

Out of the blue, Dr. Julien slammed his fist on the table, silencing everyone else in the room. He cleared his throat, climbing onto his chair to draw the attention of the Ultimates to himz Zane stood close by as the roboticist began his speech, supporting his father both emotionally and physically.

"First of all, we need to calm down and list out what we know about our current situation. Neuro, you are the best at taking notes due to your talent. Could you please share them with us?"

"Well, we have a robotic bear who claims to be our new Headmaster. No clues on what happened to Headmaster Wu or Deputy Headmaster Garmadon. All the windows on the ground floor and dorm rooms seem to be covered with metal sheets, and while Chamile and I were walking past the main entrance of the Academy, we noticed a large vault-like mechanism locking us in." Neuro read off a notepad he kept in his pants pocket, tapping the pen against his chin in a steady rhythm.

Julien smiled, before continuing. "Thank you, Neuro. Now we know that breaking windows and leaving from the front door are unavailable methods of escape. I now propose that we explore whatever areas are open to us, and try to find any possible routes Monokuma has missed."

"I'm going to stop you right there Doc." Griffin sat upright in his chair, pushing back his aviators to expose his ruby red eyes. "What if someone tries to kill us? You know, with the whole 'kill for freedom' thing going on?"

"Then we go in pairs. There are twenty people here, so that will make ten pairs."

"And how can we be sure that the person we pair up with won't kill us?"

"Then you choose someone you're familiar with and would trust with your life," Julien stated. "If everyone agrees to this notion, we will meet back here in two hours. Good luck, everyone."

* * *

The pairs were easy to predict.

Chamile had paired with Neuro, the two scouts heading back to the main entrance. Zane went with his father, and Paleman followed with Shade close behind. Lloyd tagged along with an older woman, dressed in a beige vest and dark brown pants with a dark green scarf. A man in a gas mask was accompanied by a woman with neon green hair, her labcoat flowing with each step she took. Cole grabbed Jay by the arm and dashed out of the room as soon as Julien had finished, leaving Lou to guide Jacob instead.

Kai quietly considered the remaining people who had not paired up, when a light tap on his shoulder broke his concentration. He looked back to see Skylor, who had a worried look on her face. "Can we pair up?" she asked. "You're the only one I know best here, so…"

She gave him a small smile, looking away from him shyly as she did so. Without much thought, Kai grabbed her hand, pulling it up to his chest while grinning widely. “Sure!” he blurted out, heart soaring as he watch her smile grow.

* * *

  **Free-Time Start! [Skylor Chen: Ultimate Spy]**

“So, this the basement, huh.” Skylor looked around, grip on her partner’s hand tightening.

“Seems to be!” Kai tried to keep an optimistic tone, however the sight of a giant incinerator in the basement of an academy did not really cheer either of them up. “Boy, I wonder what that could be used for,” he gestured towards the machine.

“Burning bodies, burning evidence, burning memories…” The spy listed, oblivious to the disturbed look from her partner. “Well, getting rid of stuff, basically.”

“Did you  _have_  to list ‘bodies’ as the first item? We’re trying to avoid that, remember?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry, Kai.”

They continued exploring the basement in silence, neither speaking up until Kai let out a shout of surprise. “Kai! What’s wrong?” Skylor ran over to her partner, where he was bent over, staring at something on the floor.

“Check it out! I found a copy of a Saw film in this pile of trash!” He waved the box in the air, eager to show it off to the spy. “Didn’t you say they stopped after the seventh movie, though? It says right here that this is the  _eighth_  movie in the series.”

“Strange,” she muttered, taking the box from the swordsman and turning it over. “The last time I checked, there were only seven movies. Maybe this is a ripoff?” Skylor stuffed the box into her bag, looking at the pile of trash Kai had been digging through. “Oh my goodness. Kai, do you see that?”

“See what?” Kai looked in the direction she was pointing in, where a strange piece of metal stuck out from the pile. He carefully grabbed it, avoiding the sharp edges around the ends. “I don’t get it,” he flipped the bronze piece around, confused by the spy’s interest in what seemed to be an ordinary piece of trash. “What’s the big deal about this?”

Skylor did not look at him, gaze still fixed on the piece of metal in his hands.

“That’s Echo Zane’s faceplate.”

**Free-Time End!**

* * *

_“Error. Systems missing vital data. Rebooting in three seconds…”_

Garmadon kicked the robot, sighing as he attempted to fix it once again. Hearing footsteps approach, he quickly threw it into the closet, hiding the toolbox he had been using earlier on.

“Oh, Servant~” A Monokuma unit waltzed into the room, twirling slightly as it approached the hunched over man. “I’m bored… Entertain me!

“And how would you like me to do so, sir?”

“Hm… Not sure. Didn’t expect to get this far.” The Monokuma twirled once more, before its red eye lit up. “I know! Take that knife from the table over there… and cut your ear off! You know what? Cut both your ears off!”

_“Reboot successful. Initialising data…”_

“But sir, I will be unable to hear your future instructions clearly if I remove both of my ears.”

“Your family’s all here, Garmadon. I can see Lloyd and Misako very clearly… they’re in the Nurse’s Room. Aw, boo-hoo. Looks like little Lloyd hurt his finger.” The Monokuma unit unsheathed its claws, waving them slowly in front of Garmadon’s face. “The clock's ticking, Garmadon.”

Without hesitation, he walked over to the workbench, taking the dull blade with shaky hands. He looked into the nearby mirror, slowly moving the blade over to his right ear. With one quick motion, he cut it off, biting his tongue as a makeshift gag. He repeated it for the left ear as well, tasting the familiar coppery taste of blood and vomit as he watched the crimson red liquid flow freely from the open wounds. Perhaps in the past he would have screamed in pain, or flinched at the excessive amount of red staining his monochrome uniform. Ever since he started working for Monokuma’s master, however, he no longer felt any true emotions.

Just boredom… and a wistful longing for something he was not clear about. It could have been his family. It could have been the freedom he once had. It could have been a red velvet cake. He was sure that whatever it was, it definitely was not hunger for a cake.

_“Data loaded. Performing checks on all systems for any signs of damage.”_

“Aw, you didn’t say anything…” Disappointment was evident from the tone of the robot’s voice. “Well, if you like being quiet, I guess I could give you an extra, special, present!”

The bear leapt forward, grabbing Garmadon by the throat as it reached into his mouth. The startled man tried to scream, eyes widening in surprise as he experienced the first true emotion he felt in months: fear.

The robot found his tongue. It was not long before he was laid back on the workbench, the bloodstained blade pressed lightly against the bottom of his tongue, drawing blood…

_“Missing faceplate. Commencing search for lost parts.”_

* * *

**_Truth Bullets acquired._ **

_“Blocked Windows”  added to inventory._   
_“Red Stains” added to inventory._   
_“Active Furnace”  added to inventory._   
_“Saw Film”  added to inventory._   
_“Rusted Faceplate”  added to inventory._

_**Proceed with Arc 1?**   _   
~~_Yes_  ~~   
~~_No_  ~~   
_**> Save Process** _

_Process saved. Proceeding with Arc 1..._


	9. Arc 1: A Motive For Murder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uhhh truth bullets. they're like the evidence in phoenix wright. you present em when you see a contraction. yay.

Even before they stepped into the cafeteria, Kai and Skylor could already hear the yelling from the hallway. Pushing open the doors, the duo was greeted with the sight of Cole punching Lou in the face, sending the dancer straight into Chamile, who caught him with an tired look on her face.

“Hey, hey! What the SNORK is going on here?” Skylor rushed forward to help Lou back onto his feet, while Kai helped Karloff hold back Cole, who was desperately trying to continue hitting his father. The weightlifter stopped struggling, glaring daggers at where the dancer laid on the floor. The punch had hit him hard, blood dripping from his nose and staining his suit red. “You hurt him! He’s your father, Cole!”

“A real father would let his son follow his dreams. You know, instead of constantly trying to force him to follow his own career path.  _Right, Lou?_ ” Cole growled, spitting at the fallen dancer. “It’s always ‘Cole, you have to dance!’, ‘Cole, why aren’t you following the routine?’, but not once did you ever stop to ask if ‘Cole’ actually wanted to be a dancer!”

“I’m doing this for your own good, son! That weightlifting business isn't going to get you anywhere in life!” Lou tried to defend himself, attempting to stand without help. He quickly fell back onto his rear, dropping his cane in frustration. “Why don’t you understand, Cole?”

“Your dancing is why Mom left in the first place!”

“Cole!”

“Enough! All of you!” Everyone turned to watch the Juliens enter the room, Zane holding the doors open for his father. The roboticist sighed, walking over to the dancer and giving him a tight slap. He repeated the process for Cole, earning a soft gasp from everyone else. “If the two of you keep this up, we’re never going to get out of this place alive. So put your childish feud on hold until we figure out an escape route,  _got it?_ ”

A grunt from Cole and small nod from Lou.

“Good. Chamile, Skylor, could you two kindly bring Lou to the Nurse’s Room? I think Misako and Lloyd should still be there, so they can help with his injuries. Kai, Jay, please bring Cole back to his room and make sure he stays there until his father’s injuries have been tended to.”

“Hold up!” A familiar voice piped up, as Monokuma leaped out from underneath the dining table. “Before you go, I just wanted to announce a little something! I want to show all of you some special stuff! So move your SNORKs to the AV Room this instant!”

* * *

Following the bear’s instructions, everyone proceeded to the location it specified. The former Ultimate Historian, Misako, and Lloyd were already there, each seated at a different table with a screen. The rest followed, Kai finding his own seat next to Jay and Cole. “That’s good,” he thought, “at least it’ll be easier for us to bring Cole back to his room later.”

“Here you go!” The robotic bear hopped from table to table, passing out discs with the Ultimate’s names to the respective person. Kai grabbed his disc tightly, hands trembling as he inserted the disc into the slot. He put on the headphones, and pressed ‘play’.

The screen flickered to life, revealing a recording of his living room. Nya sat on the couch, looking at the camera with a bright smile on her face.  _“Hey Kai!”_  she waved.  _“I was told to record this video for you, so here it is! Congratulations on entering Wu’s Academy. If Mom and Dad were still around, I’m sure they would be really proud of you. In fact, wherever they are, I’m sure they still are…”_

“Aw,” Kai cooed softly, watching his sister cheer him on. “That’s so sweet of you, sis.”

Suddenly, something offscreen caught her attention. She turned to look, before a masked figure came into view, grabbing her roughly without warning and dragged her away as she screamed and kicked them the entire way. The image of her being kidnapped seared itself into Kai’s mind, as the screen cut to a completely different scene. This time, the entire apartment seemed to have blown up, not a single item left intact. The photoframe which held an old photo of his parents was broken, the picture burnt at the edges and frame hanging at an awkward angle. Out of the blue, another person wearing the exact same mask ran towards the camera, smashing it with a bat as the screen turned to static. Words covered the screen, Monokuma’s laughter growing louder with each passing moment.

 _“What’s this?”_  it read.  _“Nya Smith, the Ultimate Swordsman’s younger sister and Kai Smith’s last living family member, seems to have been kidnapped by a group of mysterious individuals! And with my handsome face as well! But her knight in shining armour can’t save her if he’s trapped in the Academy… So if you want to save her, Kai, **YA GOTTA KILL SOMEONE!** ”_

He slowly took off the headphones, unable to take his eyes of the message displayed on the screen. His reaction was mirrored by several others, with Jacob being the only one to have virtually no reaction to his video.

“I can’t believe it went there!”

“Son of a SNORK!”

“Please tell me that isn’t true…”

“Well now!” Monokuma clapped its paws together, chuckling softly as it watched the Ultimates react. “I’m sure all of you have enjoyed those videos I gave you!”

“Uh, no offence or anything, but I really didn’t see SNORK,” Jacob deadpanned.

“Ugh, will someone just explain his video to him?” The bear facepalmed, gesturing angrily at the singer. “You know what? Since everyone’s video is more or less the same, I’ll just summarise all of them! My accomplices outside of this school have your family and loved ones captured and under lock and key. All you need to know is that they are safe… at least, they were when I last checked. How long ago was that? Eh, I’ll leave it up to you guys to guess.”

“And this is supposed to make us kill each other?” Neuro asked, eyes still focused on the feed on his screen. “What about those who already have our family here, like Cole, or Zane?”

“Oh you know… there’s other people they care about in the outside world.” Monokuma shrugged nonchalantly. “Either way, that’s not the true motive I have for all of you this round.”

“I beg your pardon? ‘Round’?” Neuro spoke up once again, standing up from his table and pushing the chair.

“You heard me, round! There’s going to be more than one murder, and I’m one hundred percent sure that this motive will help speed things up a bit! Motive number one? If you graduate, I’ll let you bring one other person along with you out of the Academy!”

* * *

_“Are you okay, sir?”_

Garmadon looked over to the robot.

_“You have been silent for the past few hours, and my systems indicate that you have suffered from severe blood loss. Will you be alright?”_

He pointed towards his mouth.

_“Did your master do something to your voice? Is that why you are not responding verbally?”_

He nodded.

_“Understood. Are there any other forms of communication you are capable of using?”_

The injured man thought for a while, snapping his fingers when he finally came up with a solution. Looking back at the door to ensure no one was watching, Garmadon grabbed a notebook and pen from the bloodstained workbench, scribbling on the top sheet of paper to test the pen. Satisfied at the pen’s condition, he started writing his reply.

**[Yes.]**

_“I see. Short and simple, yet you would be unable to continue this method of communication once the pen runs out of ink. Would you like to me search for a few extras for backup?”_

**[Let’s not worry about that for now. Have you figured out how to interfere with the machine I showed you the plans of?]**

_“I should have a solution in approximately two hours. Is there anything else you require me to do?”_

**[There are others. However, I have checked the list of motives and have attempted to predict the possible outcome. Here’s the blueprints for the machines that would be used.]**

He passed a small briefcase over to the robot.

_“This is a large number of blueprints.”_

**[Yes. Yes it is.]**

_“Given the time constraint you have informed me of, I will, at maximum, only be able to be finish two of the machines. I would really love to help more, but my processing systems are not as advanced as my successor's.”_

**[I could only sneak you in. The other one was too bright.]**

_“My sensors detect footsteps approaching. Should I return to my original location?”_

**[Please do. Take this notebook as well, and bring it with you the next time we meet.]**

_“Understood. I will see you soon, I presume?”_

**[yes]**

He wrote the last reply hurriedly, dropping the pen once he was done. Having received its new orders, the robot quickly retreated to the closet, just as the door to the room swung open with a loud ‘bang’.

“Honey, I’m home!” Monokuma strode into the room, a brown paper bag in its paw. “I’ve brought dinner! It’s your favourite: dead brother sandwich!”

Garmadon nodded slowly, refusing to lift his head to meet the gaze of the bear.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Garmy! I know you love this! The sweet taste of dominance over that brother of yours you’ve always hated, and the nice coppery taste of his blood…” It stopped, tilting its head in what seemed like an attempt to look cute. “Oops! I completely forgot about the whole ‘missing a tongue’ thing, sorry about that.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“I bet you loved the despair that followed after we executed him, Garmy! Watching the high-and-mighty Wu Garmadon slowly boil alive,  _surely_  you must have felt something?” The bear fanned itself with its paw, a look of [beep] on its face. “Maybe [This Section Has Been Eradicated Because Of Censorship.] Or maybe,” it frowned, “you felt like crying? Your father always loved him more…” This time, it unsheathed its claws, growling softly. “Or maybe all of that pent up rage and aggression finally left itself out, as you screamed internally?”

No answer.

“Bah! You’re boring me, Garmy~” Monokuma dropped the bag onto the workbench, sighing as it slowly walked over to the door. “I’ll see you later. For now, I have some pesky Ultimates to deal with. Hopefully the motive will work.” It laughed once again. “Who am I kidding? I’m the best the best at what I do: creating despair! See you soon, my dear Servant!”

The door slammed shut.

* * *

“So if we kill someone, when we get away with it, we’ll be allowed to bring one more person out with us?” Skylor broke the silence, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

“Well, yeah, duh.” Jay spoke between mouthfuls of pasta, earning him an annoyed sigh from Zane. “You’re not actually thinking of killing someone for that, are you?”

“Of course she wouldn’t!” Kai sprung to her defence, slamming his fork on the table in disgust. “Skylor’s above that, aren’t you Sky?”

“Her talent is basically just backstabbing everyone when we’re least expecting it, Kai!”

“You better watch what you’re saying you little prick!” Kai drew his katana, pointing it towards the inventor.

“Will the two of you stop fighting at the table? If you haven’t noticed, some of us are trying to eat here!” Cole looked up from his plate, giving the swordsman an annoyed glare.

“We're sorry  _dad_ ,” Jay snarked, “just eat up and then it’s timeout for you.”

“Fine, just don't call it that,” he muttered in reply, stabbing his pasta with the fork until the utensil bent in half.

The rest of the dinner was dead silent, no one daring to speak as the Ultimates continued to eat. Once everyone was finished, some of them headed to the kitchen to wash the dishes, while the others retreated to their rooms. Misako and Dr. Julien went to the Nurse’s Room, to check on Lou who had been there since the bear released them from the AV Room.

Following the doctor’s instructions, Kai and Jay brought Cole back to his room. The weightlifter had little to say to the duo, closing the door softly before locking himself in.

A cheerful jingle suddenly started playing, startling the duo.  _“Attention all students!”_ Monokuma’s voice rung out through the Academy.  _“Night Time has commenced! Certain areas are officially out of bounds until the morning. Enjoy your rest… or take advantage of all of this peace and quiet to settle whatever you need! Goodnight!”_

“So, what now?” Jay asked.

* * *

**_Truth Bullets acquired._ **

_"Video of Nya"_   _added to inventory._

_" Night Time Restrictions" added to inventory._

**_Current Inventory_ **

_-Blocked Windows_

_-Red Stains_

_-Active Furnace_

_-Saw Film_

_-Rusted Faceplate_

_-Video of Nya_

_-Night Time Restrictions_

** _Would you like to proceed?_ **

~~Yes~~

~~No~~

**> Save Process**

_Process saved._


	10. Arc 1: Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hi

Not long after the Night Time announcement, Jay and Kai returned to their respective dorm rooms, both hoping to get as much sleep as they could.

Unfortunately, the video of Nya kept replaying in Kai's mind, forcing him awake for the entire night. Perhaps if he took down someone easy to kill—the old doctor, maybe—he could get away with it easily? Maybe he could just push him down the stairs, and let gravity do the rest. If he used his swords, it would be too obvious. Quick, but obvious. He could go after Lou. The dancer  _was_  stuck in the Nurse's Room after all. Did the rule about sleeping outside of the dorm rooms apply to him? He was not hurt too badly. Probably went back to his room after being patched up. The more he thought, the louder Nya's screaming sounded in his mind.

"No," he exclaimed, sitting up right in his bed. "Nya, wherever she is, would never approve of me taking someone's life. Not even for her sake." With a defeated sigh, he laid back on the bed. Kai would just have to endure the pain, and wait for a better solution to arrive.

Just when he finally drifted off, the same jingle that had played for the Night Time announcement repeated itself.

"Testing, testing! Is this thing on?" A loud burst of static followed. "Darn it! Whatever. Attention all students! Night Time is officially over! The restrictions have been lifted, and will return when Night Time starts again. All other rules still apply, though, so I better not see any of you guys breaking the rules!"

The Ultimate Swordsman, awake once again, grumbled for awhile before getting up to take a shower. He tried the night before, but Monokuma had suddenly appeared and reprimanded him for taking a shower that late. In reality, the bear meant that the showers did not work during Night Time, leaving Kai to try to sleep in his usual outfit. One quick scrub later, he put on the same outfit—he found it strange that his wardrobe was literally full of copies of the clothes he wore for the ceremony—and reattached his katana and the Sword of Fire to his belt. He briefly considered going back to sleep, before dismissing the idea and stepping out of his room.

Kai pulled out his ID, checking the map provided on the device. His room was right next to Zane's room and Shade's room, while Cole's room was nearest to the staircase leading down to the ground floor and basement. He would have to pass by the weightlifter's room to get breakfast, which he did. Just as he was about to go down the stairs, Cole burst out of his room, hair wet and laces untied. "Hey Kai! Wait up!"

"Morning, Cole. Did you sleep well last night?" Kai waved to him, earning him a small smile from the other.

Cole bent down to tie his laces, hair falling into his face. "Not really, I've been having nightmares the entire night," he admitted, "but I managed to finish a few exercises I've been planning on trying out. What about you?"

Kai shrugged, not willing to reveal that he had considered killing his father. "Same here, just that I finished some… exercise books instead."

Cole laughed. "Dude, leave the studies to people like Jay. We're athletes, remember? As long as we're good in athletics, we'll pass."

"You two would have passed for that, that's true." Zane walked up to the duo, slightly annoyed at their obstruction of the stairway. "However, things are different now, especially with Monokuma in control of the school. Our talents mean nothing to that bear. All we can do is try and survive to the end of these 'rounds' it brought up. Now could you two please move? I would like to get started on breakfast. Ah, and Cole," the marksman turned to address the weightlifter, "thank you for that conversation last night. I found it extremely engaging."

"Any time, Zane." Cole watched him walk down the stairs, a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. “Hey, uh, we should probably follow him, right?"

"Yeah," Kai replied, patting his stomach lightly and letting out a hearty laugh. "If Zane's gonna keep cooking for the rest of our stay here, I think I'm going to need a new belt."

* * *

To their surprise, no one had started breakfast yet. Instead, they sat around Neuro, who was currently staring at the floor while twiddling his thumbs. He looked up when they approached him, but soon returned to his staring contest with the floor.

"Hey, what happened?" Kai asked the man with the gas mask, who glared at him before walking off. "Wow, rude."

"Don't mind Ash, he just hates talking," the woman with the neon green hair he had followed the previous day spoke up, readjusting her glasses. "We haven't been properly introduced yet. I'm Tox, former Ultimate Chemist. Neuro here's just a little worried for his partner."

"A bit? She's my junior! If anything happened to her, I don't think I can forgive myself," Neuro looked back to the doors, sighing once again. "Look, Chamile and I have been partners for quite a while. She's completely harmless, I can't see how anyone would want to hurt her…"

"Maybe she's just late?" Cole mused.

Tox snorted. "No way. She's the one who reminds Neuro of his appointments, so if anyone's going to be late, it's not her."

"Who else isn't here?" Kai inquired.

"Turner isn't here yet, but he's often late for everything. There's Shade too, and Lloyd and Misako, and Lou, Dr. Julien as well…" Tox counted, promting a frustrated yell from Neuro. "Will you calm down already? Chamile will be fine!"

"I can't take this," Neuro stood up suddenly, chair toppling over from the motion. "I have to go find her and make sure she's okay with my own two eyes."

"Neuro!"

"It's okay Tox, I'll go with him." Kai gave her a light pat on the shoulder, trying to reassure her. "I have a sword after all, two, in fact. If anyone tries to attack him, I'll fight them off."

"But what if you try to kill him? He'll be alone," Cole frowned at the notion, playing with the drawstrings of his hoodie.

Kai stared at Cole in surprise. "Wait, are you trying to say that I want to kill him? Cole, we're classmates! Do you not trust me?"

"I didn't mean that! I just meant that…" Cole leaned closer to the swordsman, lowering his voice into a whisper. "I meant that both of you could kill or be killed. Look, he's not in the most stable of moods right now. He could take you down when you least expect it. Do you still want to go with him?"

Kai smiled at his concern. "Don't worry," he whispered, "I'll be fine. He may be older, but I'm still stronger." He turned back to Neuro, pointing his thumb towards the door. "Hey Neuro, we can go now if you want."

The male scout nodded.

* * *

"So where would she possibly be? Any ideas?" Kai looked over to Neuro, who kept his gaze on the floor. "Dude, if you're not gonna help, we can't find her, you know. So hurry up and spit it out."

"I don't know."

"You said it yourself: the two of you are close. How can you possibly not know where she would be?"

"Look, the places she usually goes to are in the Staff Building, okay? That part's been blocked off, so we're stuck in the Main Building. I have no idea where she goes to here!"

"Great! Then we'll start with her room, alright?"

"That's just disrespectful!"

Kai growled in frustration. "Then  _where the SNORK_  do you want to start?"

A thud interrupted the scout's reply, drawn their attention in the direction of the staircase leading down to the basement. "What was that?"

Kai rolled his eyes. "We won't find out by standing around, right? Come on, let's go!" He grabbed the scout by the arm, dragging him the entire way to the staircase.

At the bottom of the stairs, a black plastic bag laid awkwardly from the second last step. A tear in the bag leaked a red liquid, slowly forming a puddle. "Oh no," Neuro muttered, staring at the bag in horror. "That's blood."

"Maybe it's not blood! Maybe it's… hotsauce?" Kai suggested, drawing his katana. "Stand back. I'm going to open this thing."

Neuro took a few steps away from him, leaving Kai with the small pool of blood and the suspicious bag. The swordsman steadied his blade, bring it up slowly before swinging it down on the knot keeping the bag closed. It tore through the thin plastic easily, allowing the contents within to spill out onto the floor.

A corpse fell out. Its eyes were wide open, a look of fear frozen on its face. Blood dripped from a corner of its head, a few bits of flesh dropping on to the floor. Its purple shirt was stained crimson, multiple tears where something sharp had cut through the fabric. Her purple hair mixed with the pool of red liquid.

Chamile, the former Ultimate Actor and the Academy's younger Talent Scout, has just been found dead.

A different jingle played over the PA system.  _"Ahem! Attention all students! A body has been discovered! You will be given a short amount of time to investigate, before the first Class Trial begins. Now get started you lazy SNORKs!"_  Monokuma laughed evilly, as Neuro let out a loud scream of horror.

"No… this can't be happening!"

* * *

_"Chamile?"_

**[Yes.]**

_"Unfortunate. Do you still want me to analyse her execution?"_

**[No. Focus on the one second on the list.]**

_"Understood."_

* * *

_ **Truth Bullets Acquired.** _

_“Access to Staff Building”  added to inventory._

** _Current Inventory_ **

_-Blocked Windows_

_-Red Stains_

_-Active Furnace_

_-Saw Film_

_-Rusted Faceplate_

_-Video of Nya_

_-Night Time Restrictions_

_-Access to Staff Building_

** _Would you like to proceed?_ **

~~Yes~~

~~No~~

**> Save Process**

_Process Saved._


	11. Arc 1: Looking for Clues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Investiagtion starts, Kai will actively receive/add Truth Bullets to his inventory. Then he'll load the ones that seem necessary/relevant into the cartridge for... yeah I don't think there's a canon name for the thing Makoto/Hajime uses to fire the Truth Bullets. They just. Fire.
> 
> okay yeah uh i just had to use that summary because I'm a snork

 Neuro laid on the floor, curled up into a ball. Kai sheathed his now-bloodstained katana, looking back and forth between the crying scout and dead scout in horror. He slowly approached the older male, reaching out to pet his hair in an attempt to comfort him. "I'm so sorry, Neuro."

"What happened here?" Dr. Julien appeared at the top of the staircase, staring at them in confusion. His gaze was soon drawn to the black bag, and the corpse that stuck out of the opening. "Oh sweet goodness. Is that Chamile…?"

Neuro let out another sob.

"This can't be good."

"No SNORK, doc!" Kai snapped. "Now get down here and help me with him!"

The roboticist slowly descended, carefully stepping around the pool of blood Chamile's corpse laid in. Kai watched as he gently wrapped his arms around the sobbing scout. "There, there," he muttered, earning another cry of anguish from the other. "Loss is inevitable. Come, let's get you something to help calm you down, okay?"

"I c-can't leave…" Neuro curled up tighter, refusing to look at him. "She wouldn't… w-want to be alone…"

"She wouldn't want you to hurt yourself over her, either. She has Kai," Julien looked back at the swordsman, who frowned in reply, "and he can carry out the investigation. Now let's _go._ "

He proceeded to carry Neuro, slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. As he walked away, he called back to the swordsman. "Kai, get started on the investigation. I'll get the others to join you once I reach the cafeteria."

"O-okay doc," Kai gave a shaky thumbs up, looking back to the corpse. "Now let's get started…? Ugh, why did it have to be me…"

* * *

**_Investigation Start!_ **

The swordsman pulled off his gloves, stuffing them into his back pocket. He slowly approached the corpse, trying his best to avoid disturbing the pool of blood. Unsure of what to do, he stared at the corpse silently.

"Hey SNORK! I said 'investigate', no?" Monokuma popped up from behind him, scaring him slightly. "What are you waiting for?"

"Uh…"

"You know what? Since this is the first round, I'll be kind and give you some clues, so listen closely! Number one: the body announcement message only plays once three people have seen the corpse! Excluding the killer, of course."

_"Body Announcement Requirement"_   _added to inventory._

 

Kai nodded, gently sweeping the former scout's hair away from the injury on her head. There were glass shards embedded in the skin surrounding the wound, one grazing Kai's palm and prompting him to pull back his hand to inspect the cut. 

_"Glass Shards"  added to inventory._

"Way to contaminate the evidence, SNORK. Anyways, clue number two: you can find information about the corpse's condition on your ID. I'm not allowed to hide anything from you… except for the killer's name, of course."

"Uh huh." Kai nodded again, moving his uninjured hand to pull back the rest of the bag. Chamile's legs were bent in awkward positions, her shoes also stained in blood. "So three people seeing the corpse means announcement, and file about corpse in ID. Got it."

"Who are you talking to?"

"Monokuma, who el—" Kai turned around to see the Ultimate Inventor staring at him in confusion. "Oh, hey there Jay." 

"The doctor told me to come and help you. Said something about a bloody mess, but I didn't except it to be a literal bloody mess…" Jay frowned at the sight of the corpse, closing his eyes and bowing slightly before walking up to Kai, who shot him a questioning look. "What? I'm just showing some respect for the dead, before we carry out an autopsy of some kind." 

"I don't think we need to," Kai pulled out his ID, activating it with a tap of his finger. "Monokuma told me that a report of the corpse can be found in here. The Electronic ID, that is. Under… 'The Monokuma File'. Great."

_"Victim is Chamile, the former Ultimate Actor. She was hit once on the head with a blunt object, and stabbed multiple times in the chest region. Victim's corpse has several broken bones, although they seem to be posthumous injuries. Cause of death is bloodloss from multiple stab wounds."_

_"Monokuma File”  added to inventory._ 

"Well of course she died of those stab wounds," Jay gestured to them. "But where is the murder weapon?"

Kai pointed at the glass shards. "Something made of glass was used to hit her. Maybe she lost consciousness after being hit, then the killer stabbed her a few times to make sure she was dead?"

"That doesn't tell us  _where_  either of the weapons are, Kai."

"How about we check upstairs? Neuro and I heard the bag make a thud sound, so it was probably thrown from the floor above this one," Kai mused. 

_"Location of Corpse"  added to inventory._

"Don't bother," Julien approached the duo from behind, startling both of them. Zane and Skylor followed him, neither looking even the slightest disturbed by the presence of the corpse. "I've already seen the scene upstairs earlier on. The murder weapon was a bottle of wine, and I can show it to you." He reached into his labcoat, pulling out the broken remains of what could have been an expensive bottle of wine. The label was stained with blood, making the printed words illegible. "As you can see, the base is missing, leaving us with the perfect weapon for stabbing the deceased." 

_"Broken Bottle"  added to inventory._

_"Bloody Label"  added to inventory._ 

Kai rolled his eyes, stepping over the corpse to set a foot on the stairs. "Newsflash, doc. We still need to find the original crime scene. You know, like in the shows."

With a sigh, the group followed the stubborn swordsman up the stairs, Julien silently lagging behind. It did not take long for them to find a faint trail of dried blood, leading them away from the staircase.

_"Trail of Blood”  added to inventory._

"See, I told you so," Kai puffed out his chest in pride as they walked around the corner, revealing an even bigger pool of blood in the middle of the hallway. "Wow, all this blood from a single person?"

"Well you see, Kai, the average human body contains five to six quarts of blood. It is safe for us to lose one pint of blood, also known as the average amount of blood dontated by blood donors. Shock occurs once the victims loses about two to three pints. Once they lose more than fifty percent of their blood, they die," Zane droned, as if reading the information off a textbook. "And this is why that trap where the victims had to donate ten pints of blood and the two survivors gave five pints each was unrealistic. Even if all five of the 'Fatal Five' had survived up to that point, they would still go into shock after losing the intended two pints." 

"Thanks Mister Wikipedia, what else are you going to tell us: the reason why blood groups exist?" 

"Well if you insist—"

Skylor punched the marksman lightly. "Zane, he was being sarcastic." 

"…Of course." The marksman sounded slightly disappointed that his blood trivia would not be appreciated. "What do we have here?"

"Blood, duh."

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Jay." Zane looked at the nearest door's nameplate, gasping at the name printed on it. "Father… is this not your room?"

  _"Original Crime Scene"  added to inventory._

 "…Yes, yes it is, son."

"Hang on," Kai furrowed his brows, remembering the bear's clues. "Did you see the corpse before we did?"

The roboticist avoided his gaze. "I didn't see the corpse when I got up. Someone else must have seen it first."

  _"Dr. Julien's Testimony"  added to inventory._

The pool of blood had mostly dried. Kai bent down, a glint of something having caught his attention. It was a knife, stabbed deeply into the bottom part of the doctor's doorframe. A small amount of dried blood covered the blade, flaking off at the edges. 

_"Bloody Knife"  added to inventory._

There were also shoeprints, although they were heavily smudged. "Better something than nothing," Kai thought to himself.

_"Shoeprints"  added to inventory._

"Ugh, this is pointless." Jay sighed. "We don't have enough clues to thin out the group of suspects. And that's literally like, a lot of people!"

_"Pointless or not, you'll just have to make do!”_ Monokuma's voice blasted through the overhead speakers.  _"Because it's the best part of the game:  the Class Trials! Hurry over to the metal elevator near the gymnasium, before we get started with the main event! Tardiness will result in punishment~"_

**_Investigation End!_ **

* * *

The group were the last few to enter the elevator, quickly dispersing once the set foot in the metal cage. Kai decided to stand near Cole, who gave him a small smile. His shoulders were stiff, eyes constantly looking back towards his father.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Kai gently rested a hand on the weightlifter's shoulder, shuffling closer to him.

"It's nothing, really," Cole shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Just the whole 'guess correctly or die' thing really makes me worried, you know? What if we make a wrong guess?"

"Then we die," Lou deadpanned from the opposite end of the elevator, earning him a death glare from his son. "What's the matter,  _Cole_ , did I strike a nerve? Why don't you go back to your mother if I'm such a horrible father?" 

"Listen here you selfish son of a SNORK," Cole tried to close the dustance between them, only to be stopped by Karlof, who stood between them. "Someone just got killed. I don't care if you don't give a single SNORK about Chamile. But you should have some respect for the dead, SNORK it! Don't you dare make something as serious as this about you."

"I think both of you need to learn more about  _'respecting the dead'_ ," Neuro snapped, eyes red from his crying. "Now shut the SNORK up before I kill both of you."

"Neuro!" Tox slapped him lightly, shushing him as the doors of the elevator started to close.

The metal gates slammed together with a loud clunk. Not long after, the elevator started its descent, silencing everyone within. Out of the blue, Kai felt Cole grab his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. “Hey, uh, Kai? Can you promise me something…?"

"Yes?" Kai whispered back, his amber eyes meeting Cole's royal blue ones. 

"Promise me that whatever happens… you will remember me to the very end. And if anything happens to me, take care of my dad for me, okay?" Cole blushed slightly at the request, looking down at his sneakers.

Kai returned the squeeze. "Of course," he replied.

The elevator ground to a halt.  _"We have arrived at the courtroom. Please enter and take your respective seats!"_

Kai stared at the speaker. Almost unwilling to move from his spot.

Twenty Ultimates had been trapped in the school.

Nineteen Ultimates will enter the courtroom. 

Now, either eighteen Ultimates will leave the courtroom, with one having to face the consequences of their actions, or two Ultimates would walk out of a massacre, rising above them all with nothing but the guilt of having killed eighteen others in their quest for freedom.

"This is it," Kai thought to himself.

"Here comes the first battle…!"

* * *

_"It's started."_

**[are they okay]**

_"The Ultimate Luckster, and former Ultimate Historian, are both alive and well."_

**[good we know who killed her are you done with the analysis]**

_"Yes."_

**[get started on the other]**

_"Understood.”_

**[please take care of my son]**  

* * *

**_ Preparing for Class Trial. _ **

 

  _Loading Cartridge…_

_ -"Body Announcement Requirement” _

_ -"Glass Shards" _

_ -"Monokuma File” _

_ -"Location of Corpse” _

_ -"Broken Bottle” _

_ -"Bloody Label”  
_

_ -"Trail of Blood” _

_ -"Original Crime Scene” _

_ -"Dr. Julien's Testimony”  
_

_ -"Bloody Knife” _

_ -“Shoeprints" _

_ -“Active Furnace” _

_ -“Video of Nya” _

_ -“Night Time Restrictions" _

_ -“Access to Staff Building” _

_Inventory inaccessible._

**_ Proceeding with Class Trial... _ **


	12. Arc 1: Trial of Form

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial for Chamile begins.
> 
> All rise!
> 
> i'd just like to say
> 
> snork

Once all the Ultimates were in their respective places, Monokuma returned to his own seat: a shiny golden throne, with red velvet cushions and matching gold tassels at the edges. Various precious stones lined the frame, ranging from rubies to emeralds to sapphires which practically sparkled under the strong beams of light emitted from the bright spotlights overhead. While the bear enjoyed its comfortable-looking seat, the Ultimates were forced to stand, no chairs around for them to rest upon. In front of each person was a witness stand, showing obvious signs of wear and tear. Kai gently ran his fingers across the cracked surface of his stand, feeling the texture of wood beneath his gloved palms.

“Now, let’s begin with a simple explanation of the Class Trial! Your votes, that is, the votes of everyone currently alive in this room, will determine the conclusion of our humble trials. If you correctly deduce who the killer is, and the majority votes for the murderer of our dearly departed, then only the ‘blackened’ will receive punishment. However, the opposite will happen if the majority does not vote for the ‘blackened’. Long story short, they’ll go free, the rest of you die. Vote correctly, only they die. Sounds good? Then let’s begin with a summary of the case!” Monokuma leaned back into its chair, pulling a teapot out of nowhere and pouring the steaming contents straight into its mouth while ignoring the confused looks from several of the participants.

“Hey Monokuma?” Lloyd stared at the portrait of Chamile place opposite from him, a bright pink ‘X’ painted over the monochrome photo. “What’s with the photo of Chamile?”

“Excellent observation, and by that I mean ‘great job pointing out useless stuff’! I’ll be putting photos of the deceased to act as a representative of them during the Trials. I mean, why let being dead prevent you from spending time with your friends and colleagues, right? Now get on with the entertaining stuff!”

After several minutes of silence, Dr. Julien cleared his throat loudly. “Since no one else is willing to start us off, I shall begin. The victim is Chamile, who is the Academy’s younger Talent Scout, and the former Ultimate Actor. Or Actress, depending on how you prefer to address her. Her corpse was discovered by Neuro and Kai, who were looking for her prior to the discovery of her… current condition."

“So obviously it’s Kai who killed her!” Shade snapped, pointing his finger towards Kai. “And since Neuro was so close to her, it would only make sense for him, a student who would have nothing to lose from attacking a teacher obviously weaker than him and killing them! All you would have to do was volunteer on purpose to distract us, while your accomplice got rid of the body!”

Kai flinched at the accusation. “Woah, woah, you're I killed her… and got someone else to get rid of the evidence while I kept you all busy? I want to hear your own evidence supporting that.”

“Well, if you insist...”

 

**Nonstop Debate #1**

Shade: “The plan is simple. Last night, you got her to meet you near the hallway leading to the staircase.”

Shade: “With her guard down, due to your age difference, you took a bottle of wine you had snuck with you from the cafeteria and hit her once on the head!”

Shade: “Injured, but unwilling to give in, she pulls out a knife she had with her for self-defence, and attacked you. You easily deflected her blows, and then finished her off with a few stabs to her chest with your blade.”

Shade: “Afterwards,  **you cleaned your blade using water from your own bathroom** , then met up with the rest of us to seem not suspicious." 

Jacob: “…and then you brought Neuro to somewhere you thought would be far away, but then your accomplice failed at their job and dropped the body while you two were still nearby.”

Jay: “You know, you guys are starting to make quite a bit of sense…”

Cole: “Kai wouldn’t do such a thing!”

Jay: “Yeah, maybe he wouldn’t have in the past, but after those videos? I wouldn’t be surprised if he snapped!”

“Night Time Restrictions” > “ **...you cleaned your blade using water from your own bathroom…** ” 

**BREAK!!!**

 

“That’s where you’re wrong!” Kai exclaimed, the sudden realisation dawning upon him. “I couldn’t have cleaned either of my blades in my own bathroom after supposedly murdering Chamile, because there was  **no water for me to use in the first place!"**  

“I beg your pardon?” Shade shot Kai a look of confusion. “Clearly everyone here has a bathroom in their room.”

“Yes, but remember that the last time we saw Chamile while she was alive was before the Night Time announcement. When it played, I was with Jay outside of Cole’s room. Monokuma told me when I got back to my own room that the showers and sinks wouldn’t work during Night Time, so there’s no way I could have washed my blade." Kai smirked, watching Shade lower his arm in response. "Now does anyone have a better idea?"

"Well we know that during the time you left to find her, there were people who hadn't shown up yet." Tox pushed her glasses back with a huff. "Let's see, there was… Turner, Shade, Lou, Lloyd, Misako, and Dr. Julien, I think."

"Then clearly," Cole piped up, "Shade's trying to hide his guilt by pinning the murder on Kai!"

"Am not!" Shade glared at the weightlifter, who merely glared back. 

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "It's too early to start accusing random people. I think we should look at what we know first before doing the whole accusing thing."

"Kid's got a point," Griffin muttered.

"Alright then." Dr. Julien nodded in approval of the Luckster's suggestion. "Let's talk about the corpse itself."

 

**Nonstop Debate #2**

Dr. Julien: "The corpse was found in a black plastic bag, at the staircase nearest to the cafeteria."

Neuro: "Kai opened the bag and… she fell out."

Lloyd: "Chamile was dead?”

Griffin: “No, Chamile was dancing the cha-cha and singing in Span–of course she was dead.”

Lloyd: “Well, sorry for being dumb. Hey Neuro, how did Kai open the bag?”

Neuro: “He used his sword to cut the bag open. And then..."

Misako: "Logically speaking, even if she wasn't dead, she would be considering that  **we have no idea how long she would have been in that bag**. She would have died of blunt force trauma or suffocation by the end of her trip down the stairs."

Dr. Julien: "No she wouldn't, because she was already dead when she was put into the bag. Who's able to survive several stab wounds to the chest anyways?"

"Trail of Blood" > " **…we have no idea how long she would have been in that bag…** ”

  **BREAK!!!**

 

"Allow me to correct you about that!" Kai spoke up once again. "You see, Misako, we can tell when the body was moved, and thus estimate when she was put into the bag!"

"Really?" Misako asked.

“Oh, you’re right!” Jay snapped his fingers. “There was a trial of blood leading away from a large pool of blood, and the bottom of the bag was stained with blood too. Those tracks looked fresh, so it’s likely that her corpse was put into the bag and dragged away to the staircase not too long after the morning announcement… I guess?”

“That puts the time period to be…” Misako counted quietly, eyes lighting up with the realisation. “About an hour or so, correct?”

“Apparently.” Bololo, the former Ultimate Botanist, furrowed his brows. “But where does that get us? All we know is that the body was in the bag for about an hour. So what?"

“Well, we know that Misako’s theory about her still being alive when put into the bag is false now. So that means that she wasn’t killed or attacked around the time of the morning announcement. Which places the murder to happen at night, likely after the Night Time announcement,” Dr. Julien mused. “There’s no rule against leaving our rooms at night, so that cuts down our pool of suspects to… literally everyone save the victim herself. Wonderful.”

“Wait, Jay. Did you say ‘a large pool of blood’?”

“Yeah, I did. Why is that, Misako?”

“Where exactly is that pool of blood…?”

Jay shrugged nonchalantly. “Outside Dr. Julien’s room. It was really messy and stuff. Is that important?”

“So that’s supposedly the original scene of the crime, right?” Misako turned her attention to the roboticist. “Julien. I think you have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Misako, I see no reason as to why I need to explain myself.” Julien looked away from her gaze, grip tightening on his stand. “The scene of the crime is the hallway outside of my room, yes.” 

“And you didn’t say that in your opening summary, because?”

“It was an unnecessary detail, in my opinion.” 

“Father!” Zane stared at him, confusion evident on his face. “Why would you consider hiding any evidence from the court?”

“Zane, dear, we aren’t in court. And I’ve no reason to hide evidence from you all. When I say it’s unnecessary, it’s unnecessary. What would knowing the ‘original’ location of her death do to the case? Nothing, that’s what. So I suggest that we move on, and stop pondering over such a minor detail. Kai, coul–” 

Zane slammed his fist on his own stand, sending small fragments of wood flying upon impact. “Father. You are using contractions." 

“I beg your pardon, Zane?” Cole inquired. “It’s completely normal for people to use contractions while they’re talking. What’s so special about your dad using them?”

“From my experience, he never uses contractions. Unless, of course, he’s lying about the subject at hand. So,” Zane pulled back his hand, wincing at the splinters that pierced his skin. “Misako is correct, Father. You have plenty of explaining to do.”

“My usage of contractions means nothing to this conversation, Zane. I still see no issue with missing out such a trivial matter.” Dr. Julien sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. “Unless someone else wants to offer an explanation?”

“I know why you’re hiding the evidence, doctor.” Kai spoke up, watching the older male stand upright to match his gaze.

“You’re…”

~~“…telling the truth.”~~  

~~“…traumatised and refuse to remember the events.”~~  

**> “…the actual killer?” **

“Oh my,” Dr. Julien raised an eyebrow, calmly combing a hand through his brown hair. “I see that I’m the new murder suspect. Mr. Smith, why don’t you entertain me by explaining how I supposed killed Chamile, in that case?”

“Well it’s simple, you see!” Cole interrupted. “You took advantage of your seniority to catch her with her guard down, then killed her with the bottle! Afterwards, you tried to get rid of the body, but you didn’t know that Kai and Neuro were near the staircase you threw her body down. So you panicked, and tried to pretend that you had never seen the body either!”

“And what evidence do you have that I killed her, in that case?”

“Well, you  _do_  lift heavy machinery as part of your job. You’d certainly have the power to hit her with enough force to break the bottle and beat her in a fight, given the chance. Lifting the body would also be no problem.”

A majority of the Ultimates nodded in agreement with Cole’s logic, save a few who exchanged puzzled looks and uncertain murmurs.

* * *

“So, are we ready to vote?” Monokuma woke up, leaping up in its throne in response to the sudden silence.

“Wait, not yet.” Lou piped up, tapping his cane lightly against the floor. “Something here isn’t right. Julien, you look a little  _too_  happy to be called a murderer, don’t you think?”

“Once again, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, Lou.” Julien gave a small smile, shrugging slightly at the dancer.

“Hang on, doc. Mr. Brookstone’s got a point.” Kai closed his eyes, slowly processing the behaviour the roboticist had displayed earlier on. “If Zane wasn’t lying, then you yourself are lying. It’s obvious that you’ve seen the corpse before, but now that I think about it again… I don’t think you’re the killer. Some things just don’t add up as well as Cole makes them seem.”

Julien sighed in annoyance. “So am I the killer, or am I not the killer?" 

Present: “Body Announcement Requirement”

“You’re not the killer,” Kai started, “because if the first time you saw the body was after you killed her, we would have needed one more person who wasn’t you to show up and see the corpse as well to trigger the announcement. Instead, it was only after Neuro and I, two people, saw the corpse, that Monokuma played the announcement. Thus, you’re not the killer, but you’re the first person to find the corpse. Now, would you like to confirm my theory?”

“The game is up, I guess.” Julien raised his hands up in mock defeat. “Yes, I did lie. I was, indeed, the first person to see the corpse. To be specific, I saw the corpse while returning to my room after my usual nightly stroll. But to this I pose you a question in response: why am I lying about the corpse?”

“Because Zane killed Chamile? And you wanted to protect your son?” Griffin suggested, prompting the marksman to point his gun at him in response. “H-hey! I was kidding!”

“While it would be obvious that I would not use my firearms to kill, I highly doubt that I would be able to get my hands on a bottle of wine. When Monokuma made the Night Time announcement, I was strolling with my father. Besides, I have zero intention of ever allowing the poison to cross my lips. Alcohol is extremely unhealthy.” Zane put the gun back into its holster, bowing slightly towards the startled athlete. “Apologies, Mr. Turner. I did not mean to startle you, and had merely allowed my emotions to take control for a brief moment. I assure you that it does not happen often, and that the safety was on the entire time.” 

“What now?” Karlof looked at the rest with a bored expression, spinning his wrench behind his back.

“Agreed, Karlof. We’re out of suspects now.” Skylor, who had been silent up to that point, echoed his thoughts. “All we know is that Chamile was killed at night, she died outside of Dr. Julien’s room, and that she was already dead when put into the bag. What’s the next step?”

 

**Nonstop Debate #3**

Zane: “Well, I suppose we should talk about why she was outside of my father’s room.”

Cole: “Are we sure that she didn’t get attacked elsewhere, then crawled over to the doctor’s room and died there?” 

Tox: “Chamile knows that Julien doesn’t stay in his room often, especially if he doesn’t have any projects at the moment. So there’s no way she crawled over there after being attacked.” 

Jay: “It was a large pool of blood outside of the doc’s room, right? So that means that she bled out there, and the only tracks leading away from the scene were the ones created by the plastic bag.”

Tox: “So she wasn’t attacked until she reached the room? If that’s the case, there’s no reason  **why she should be at his room in the first place!** ”

Cole: “Maybe she was meeting someone? The doctor himself, maybe?”

Dr. Julien: “I was not aware of any meeting involving the two of us, so that would not be a reason.”

Neuro: “…why did she have a knife?” 

“Bloody Knife” >  **“...why she should be at his room in the first place!”**  

**BREAK!!!**  

 

“I’ll cut through those words with a swing of my blade!” Kai drew his katana, accidentally swinging it and nearly slicing his stand in half, earning him a growl from Monokuma. “SNORK, sorry. Got a little caught up.” He awkwardly sheathed the blade, under the unwavering stares of the other Ultimates. “Anyways, there was a reason why she was near the doctor’s room! And the knife in the doorframe is the reason why!”

“Wait, isn’t that knife the murder weapon?” Tox questioned. “Why would the murder weapon be the reason for her visiting?”

“Well, we’ve pretty much agreed that she had the knife on her first, correct? So the only reason why the knife in there is because she wanted to use the knife for…”

~~“…protection.”~~

**“…murder.”**

~~“…negotiation.”~~

“Murder?” Neuro frowned at the idea. “Chamile wouldn’t do that, she’s too nice for that…”

Present: “Video of Nya”

“I’m so sorry to burst your bubble Neuro, but the videos Monokuma showed us yesterday are definitely enough to push someone off the edge. I’m not sure about what her video was about, but mine showed my sister getting kidnapped, and my apartment…” Kai paused, choking back tears as Nya’s screaming rang in his ears once again. “But nevermind that, the main thing is that Monokuma used the videos to tempt us into killing each other–and succeeded. She probably tried to kill someone, which is why she had the knife in the first place.”

Before Neuro could reply, Lloyd hummed in approval. "That makes much more sense than the whole 'Dr. Julien is the murderer' thing. It doesn't give us a clue as to who killed her, though. I mean, Dr. Julien wouldn't be able to overpower Chamile in a fight, would he?" 

"No offence to you, father, but it is true that my father is not as strong as others might think. Time has not been kind to him." Zane spun his gun in his hand, boredom evident in his voice. "Now we know that Chamile tried to kill my father, and something happened which led to her death. The question is: what is that 'something'?"

"Maybe someone interrupted?” Jay suggested. 

Shade snorted. "That's stupid. Dr. Julien was the only one not in his room when Chamile attacked."

"Wait, Zane said that he was with his dad earlier on. That makes the total to be two people who weren't in their rooms at the time of the attack.” Skylor explained.

Zane shook his head. “While that is true, I did not see my father being attacked at all.” 

“It still brings the total to two, Zane.”

“The total would actually be four, Skylor.”

“Four? But there’s you, the doctor, the would-be attacker Chamile–” Kai counted out loud, cutting himself off once he realised who Zane was talking about. He turned to face the person, unfazed by the sudden movement of their arms, brought up to their face in a futile attempt to protect themself from the upcoming accusation.

_"You two would have passed for that, that's true." Zane walked up to the duo, slightly annoyed at their obstruction of the stairway. "However, things are different now, especially with Monokuma in control of the school. Our talents mean nothing to that bear. All we can do is try and survive to the end of these 'rounds' it brought up. Now could you two please move? I would like to get started on breakfast.”_

Kai remembered the way the marksman icy blue eyes focused on the person beside him, a panicked expression visible for just a brief moment as their blue eyes widened in surprise at the mention of their name…

_“...Cole,” the marksman turned to address the weightlifter, "thank you for that conversation last night. I found it extremely engaging."_  

_"Any time, Zane."_

“Cole Brookstone,” Kai swallowed, refusing to break eye contact with the weightlifter, “what are you hiding from us?”

* * *

Cole laughed, slamming his fist against the trial stand repeatedly with each laugh. Cracks formed on the wooden surface, chips flying in every direction with each hit. “What the SNORK are you talking about, Kai? I’m not hiding anything!” he chuckled, panting heavily as he gradually stopped smashing the stand in front of him. Crimson red liquid dripped from the cuts on his palm, forming a small pool of blood on the floor next to him. 

“Cole, you were the only other person who was out of their room and hadn’t told us about their whereabouts.”

“Kai, he was with me, there’s no way he could have…” Zane frowned, staring at the weightlifter with a concerned expression. “Hang on. Cole, where did you go  _after_  we separated?”

“Back to my room, duh!” Cole glared at the marksman, stuffing his bleeding hand into his pocket with a huff. “Where else would I have gone?” 

Present: “Shoeprints"

“Cole, can we take a look at the soles of your shoes?” Kai asked, watching as he reached up to toy with one of the drawstrings of his hoodie.

“H-hey, I’m gonna need a good reason for that!”

“There were shoeprints at the crime scene. We need to know if those would match yours…”

“Remind me why you aren’t checking Dr. Julien’s, Zane’s or even Chamile’s? Why am  _I_  the only one being subjected to this sudden examination?” Cole retorted, glaring daggers at the swordsman from across the room.

Zane spoke first, preventing Kai from replying. “Because my father wears dress shoes, Chamile wears flats, and I wear combat boots. The shoeprints resembled sneakers, which you, out of the four of us, are the only one wearing a pair of.”

Cole let out a panicked yelp, jumping slightly as the marksman pointed his gun back at him.

“Fine, if you don’t believe me, prove that I’m lying!” he exclaimed, pointing his injured hand towards Kai.

_“Why would I be at the scene of the crime?”_

~~“You were working with the victim.”~~

~~“You wanted to talk to Dr. Julien.”~~

**> “You took a wrong turn.”**

“We haven’t been here for long. It wouldn’t be surprising for you to accidentally walk in the wrong direction, even with the Electronic ID’s map.”

“Fine!  _Why can’t Dr. Julien be the murderer?_ ”

Present: “Body Announcement Requirement”

“We already covered this.  **Dr. Julien was the first person to see the corpse, because if he wasn’t, the announcement would only play once he actually showed up at the staircase.** Neuro can confirm that.”

“Alright, so if I showed up just as Dr. Julien was struggling with Chamile, that would make him a witness.  _If I did kill Chamile, why did he not stop me?_ ”

Present: “Original Crime Scene”

“Because if he saw you overpower Chamile and kill her,  **he’d know better than to try and fight you**. Unless, of course, he wanted to die again." 

_“Okay, let’s say that I did kill Chamile. And Dr. Julien saw me. Why didn’t I kill him too? After all, dead men tell no tales. Why leave a witness?”_

Present: “Video of Nya”

“You didn’t want Zane to lose his father.  **Unlike what happened to your… mother?** ” Kai ended the sentence with an uncertain glance at Lou, who had fallen silent a long time ago. The dancer turned away, back facing everyone else in the room.

“Whatever! I still have no idea how you managed to leap to such a major accusation!”

Kai bit his lip, suddenly aware of everyone’s eyes on him. “That’s enough,” he muttered, “I think I know how the entire incident took place. At least, how Chamile ended up being killed.”

“Last night, after Jay and I left, you went to find Zane, likely to vent your frustrations about your relationship with Lou. With him distracted, Chamile took the knife she had with her, and confronted Dr. Julien just as he was about to return to his room. Just as she was about to land the finishing blow, you arrived. Using your strength, you easily threw her off the doctor. You grabbed the bottle of wine, and hit her on the head with enough force to shatter it. She went down, dropping the knife as she struggled to crawl away from you. Without much thought, you took the knife and stabbed her, only stopping once you remembered that Dr. Julien was still there. Panicking, you dropped the knife and ran away, down to the basement where the furnace was. You did… something, and managed to burn the clothes you were wearing along with your shoes…?” Kai trailed off, not exactly sure if anything he was saying made sense. "But yeah, Cole Brookstone, you're the killer!"

Out of the blue, Cole fell to his knees, sobbing loudly for all to hear. “C-Cole?” Kai gasped, caught off-guard by the weightlifter’s sudden outburst.

“You want a confession?” Cole was facing the ground, refusing to look up. “Fine! I’ll give you all the SNORKed confession you want!”

“Yes! I killed Chamile! I saw her fighting with Julien, and I was just so angry at her and worried for Zane that I… grabbed her and threw her at a wall. She tried to stab me, even managed to scratch me,” he pulled up his sleeve, revealing bloody bandages, “and then I attacked her. She was about to scream, so I used the knife to stab her. I-is that enough for you? What else you want from me?”

“I was the one to hit Chamile with the bottle of wine in self defence, and attempted to drag her body to the furnace,” Julien spoke up, staring at Cole with a look of pity, “I was the one who told Cole to give me his blood-stained clothes, which I had already gotten rid of. If Neuro had just stayed still, we would have gotten away with it as well…”

“Julien, wh–" 

Monokuma let out a huff, interrupting Lou as he slammed an oversized gavel onto a gold button. “Alright you dumb SNORKs, I think it’s been long enough! In front of all of you is a panel for voting. Just tap the icon of the person who you think is the killer, and that will seal your vote!”

No one dared to speak as they entered the votes, Lou being the only one who hesitated before making his choice.

A slot machine appeared behind Monokuma, spinning rapidly before all three columns landed on a pixel icon of Cole’s head.

“What a pity, you all chose the right person! Oh wait, there’s one vote here for… Julien? Bah, didn’t have the heart to vote for your own son, Louis? Whatever, it’s time for the execution!” Monokuma lifted the gavel once again, laughing as it slammed it down on a red button, ignoring the loud protests from Lou.

* * *

 COMMENCING EXECUTION: WHAT’S THE HOLD UP?

A metal claw came down from the ceiling, grabbing Cole by the waist as it pulled him upwards. The entire courtroom fell apart, revealing a rocky terrain with mountains and a metal platform, which Cole now stood upon. His feet were chained, preventing him from running away or sitting down. 

Suddenly, a platform fell from above, nearly crushing Cole before he held it up with a yelp. His arms were trembling, eyes closed as he struggled to keep the platform above him. 

Monokuma came crashing in with a crane, playing with the controls as it started to throw rocks onto the platform. Each rock caused Cole to let out a groan, as his arms started lowering due to the excessive weight. Twenty rocks later, his knees were bent as well, panting heavily and biting his lip as Monokuma used the crane arm to pick up a small, white feather. It dropped the feather, everyone watching as it slowly drifted and landed on the tall pile of rocks on the platform.

A loud crack was heard as Cole’s arms snapped, bones exposed as blood started pooling at his feet. He let out a final scream as the entire platform came crashing down on him, blood splattering everywhere. 

ULTIMATE WEIGHTLIFTER COLE BROOKSTONE'S EXECUTION: EXECUTED 

* * *

There was a pin-drop silence as everyone walked back to the elevator. Lou was the first to break, tears falling as he fell into Julien’s waiting arms. The roboticist hugged him tightly, patting the dancer lightly on the back in response.

“Are you not excited?” Monokuma popped up, posing as it activated the elevator with a slam of its paw. “Come on, you’ve gotta admit that it was cool!" 

“You killed him!” Lou yelled at the bear, reaching out to grab him as Julien held him back. “How could that been cool!”

“Eh, your opinion doesn’t matter. If I were you, I’d be happy that I’m alive to see the next rounds! Now go back to your rooms and rest, you’ve got plenty more rounds to go!”

* * *

_“Geez, he wasn’t fun at all! Broke too easy. I do wonder if the next motive will be any good…? **Eighteen**  more players, many more rounds!” _

**_ 18 ULTIMATES REMAIN _ **


	13. Arc 1: Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry lou you're my favourite background character who isn't an elemental master
> 
> uhh not sure if i missed any snorks, comment below if i did

Cole Brookstone struggled to hold up the platform. He forced himself to look down: he had already seen the look on his father's face the moment he had confessed to being the murderer. The look on everyone's face. A simple, "Why, Cole?"

Yes, why would the innocent young boy kill someone who had been nothing but kind to him, someone he had been able to look up to and someone he could even consider as a mother figure?

Monokuma dropped another rock, breaking Cole's train of thought as he continued to keep the platform above his head. How many was that? Twenty? The young weightlifter was strong, yes. But he was still human. And humans had their limits.

A scream. Someone was shouting his name. Cole looked up, a mistake he soon regretted when he saw Lou pressed against the chainlink fence separating them, tears flowing down his cheeks as he continuously slammed his fists against it. "Dad, I'm so sorry!" Cole wanted to scream back. "I didn't mean to hurt you! I just wanted to save you…"

Monokuma returned, the robotic bear practically dancing in its seat as it played with the levers in the crane, dropping yet another object onto the growing pile of rocks. It was light… but Cole could no longer withstand the weight and pressure.

He screamed when his arms snapped. He screamed when the platform fell.

And he screamed when he saw the look on his father's face.

* * *

"Hey, Zane!" Cole called out to the marksman, who turned back to him at the mention of his name. "Do you have a moment?"

Zane nodded. "Of course, Cole. Why would I be occupied at such a late hour?"

Cole smiled, dashing forward and clinging to the older teen's arm. "Great! Where do you want to go to talk?"

"Hm… how about your room? It'll be much safer, and before you complain about how you could end up killing me," Zane chuckled, "I trust you. And you can trust me."

Cole flinched. "Uh, my room's a bit messy. Could we go to yours instead?"

"Sure, follow me."

The duo walked in silence, neither speaking until they reached their destination.

"We're here."

They stepped into the room, Cole immediately shivering from the sudden drop in temperature. Zane's eyes widened in shock, apologising profusely as he pulled out a pair of golden shurikens from under his pillow. With the flick of a switch, the temperature in the room returned to normal. The marksman placed the shurikens on his pillow, looking back to his guest with a sheepish look on his face.

Before he could explain himself, Cole had already started asking questions. "Dude, you have golden weapons too?"

"'Too'?" Zane tilted his head in confusion. "Cole, did you also receive a golden weapon?"

The weightlifter nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I got a scythe called the 'Scythe of Quakes'. It's supposed to be capable of creating tremors and earth… stuff."

Zane picked up the shurikens again. "I see. These here are the 'Shurikens of Ice'. As you have just experienced, they are able to lower the temperature of a room, or produce ice and frost wherever they strike." He paused. "Despite the fact that it doesn't make sense. So, Cole, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

“Oh, right!” Cole let out an awkward laugh, having nearly forgotten the reason he looked for the marksman. “Uh, what are your thoughts on my dad?”

“Lou Brookstone, as a dancer or as your father?” Zane asked in a joking manner, earning an annoyed sigh from the other teen. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist.”

“It’s just that,” Cole threw up his hands in frustration, “everyone seems to take my dad’s side whenever I’m talking about my career and stuff. It’s always, ‘He’s doing it for your own good’ or ‘He knows best for you!’ and I’m just really tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. Just tell me honestly, Zane. What am I doing wrong?”

Zane nodded in response. “Cole, you’re not the one at fault...”

“Finally.”

“...But you aren’t exactly in the right, either.” The weightlifter raised an eyebrow at this statement. “Both you and your father are in the wrong.”

“But you just said that I’m not at fault!”

“Let me explain. First of all, when you decided to start weightlifting, you did not inform your father. When you started making up lies that you were actually dancing or hanging out with friends, Lou thought that meant his method of pressurising you to dance was working. Thus, he continued to pressurise you, believing what he was doing was the correct way. So you are at fault here for not telling him the truth.”

Cole fell silent, nodding along with whatever the marksman had to say.

“On the other hand, Lou should not have pressurised you into following his footsteps. Whatever frustrations he had from his wife were clearly directed towards you via the pressurisation. And that’s where he went wrong.”

Cole nodded again. “I see,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, uh, if I wanted to try and make amends with my dad… would you be able to help me with that?”

Zane shook his head. “If you want me to apologise on your behalf, that would be impossible. If you would like me to facilitate the meeting between the two of you, however, I would be more than happy to do so.”

“Great!” Cole clapped his hands together, a bright smile on his face as he shook the marksman’s hand enthusiastically. “Then let’s meet at Classroom B-2 tomorrow, after breakfast. Okay?”

Zane chuckled at the other teen’s enthusiasm to make up with his father. “That would be perfect, Cole. See you tomorrow, and have a good rest.”

* * *

Cole sighed when he realised he had taken yet another wrong turn, nearly entering Karlof’s room by mistake. “SNORK it,” he muttered angrily, "why does this stupid academy have to be so big?”

Just as he was about to turn back and try a different route, the weightlifter heard a scream up ahead. Without hesitation, he sprinted towards the source of the scream, passing by his own room on the way.

Dr. Julien was on the floor, pinned down by a knife-wielding Chamile. She swung the blade towards the old man’s head, missing by a hair’s breadth as he turned his head in the opposite direction. “Just keep still!” She growled, prompting Julien to swing the bottle of wine he had in his hand at her head, the glass shattering on impact and prompting a scream from the former actress.

“What are you doing?!” Cole dashed forward, grabbing Chamile by the shoulders and throwing her against the wall. She dropped the blade, which Cole quickly picked up.

Scowling, she grabbed the broken base of the bottle, charging at Cole and scratching his arms. The weightlifter panicked, thrusting the blade in his hands forward several times as he looked to the fallen roboticist for support. All he got was a frightened look and a gurgled scream.

Cole looked back to Chamile, almost screaming when he saw the blood gushing out from the stab wounds. Her face was frozen in a look of shock, more blood dripping from her open mouth as she fell off the knife’s blade. The weightlifter dropped it, tears welling up when he realised what he had just done.

Julien crawled over to Cole, pulling the crying weightlifter into a tight hug. “It’s okay,” he muttered, looking away from the corpse, “just give me these set of clothes and shoes and I’ll handle the rest.”

* * *

“…Is this for me?”

“Please take it, Lou. It took me a while to get the stains out of the fabric.”

The former Ultimate Dancer took the black hoodie from the roboticist, examining it throughly. It was the same hoodie Cole had worn for his execution, found in his room the day after the trial. Julien had taken the effort to wash the bloodstains from it, even going as far as to patch up the rips.

With a sigh, Lou put it on, feeling the warmth from the hoodie surround him.

Maybe if he shut his eyes hard enough, he could imagine Cole hugging him.

Just one last time.

_**End Arc 1: The Form of Earth** _


	14. Arc 2: The Second Motive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mama mia, here we go again  
> my my, something something pizza

_“Kai.” Cole stood before the swordsman, a golden scythe in his hands. “Kai, please, you need to wake up.”_

_Kai shook his head, grip tightening on the Sword of Fire. “Leave me alone!” he cried, flipping the hidden switch and swinging the blazing blade towards the weightlifter. It sliced right through him, his torso fading away where the fire would have burnt him. “What the–”_

_“Beware.”_

* * *

Kai woke up in cold sweat. He looked around his room, making sure no one else was inside when he threw off the covers to take a shower. Just as he was about to enter the bathroom, someone knocked on the door. With a sigh, Kai put on the clothes he had worn the day before, leaving his swords on the coffee table while he went to open the door.

“Good morning to you, Kai,” Zane greeted with a smile. “I thought I should inform you that I have planned for breakfast to consist of waffles and ice cream. May I know what flavour of ice cream you would like?”

“Eh,” Kai rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what he wanted. “Just give me what Cole’s having.”

The marksman’s expression darkened at the mention of the weightlifter’s name. “Kai, Cole is dead. He was executed right in front of our eyes, remember?”

“Cole’s not…” Kai drifted off when he realised his mistake. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s fine, Kai. I understand.” Zane forced a sad smile. “Sure, it’s been a week, but some of us still haven’t gotten over their deaths.”

Kai nodded sadly in agreement. Chamile’s death had caused Neuro to speak less, the remaining scout often showing up late for any meetings they had agreed on.

On the other hand, Lou had locked himself in his room, refusing to come out even for meals. It took the combined efforts of Skylor’s lock-picking and Karlof’s strength to enter the room, and so far nothing they tried was able to make him leave the room of his own will. Dr. Julien had been bringing food to the dancer, ensuring that he did not die of hunger or thirst.

“I’m going to take a shower now.” Kai tried to hide the tears that were forming by turning away. Zane nodded, waving goodbye to the swordsman as he headed off to the cafeteria.

One shower later, Kai was making his way to the cafeteria. His shoulder guards felt much heavier than usual, as if he were carrying a burden on his shoulders. “Maybe it really is my fault,” he thought to himself, “I was the one who pointed out the flaws in Cole’s arguments, after all…” Engrossed in his thoughts, the teen didn’t notice when he walked straight into someone else, causing the other to drop the object their were carrying in their hands. Kai looked up, coming face to face with Lou.

“SNORK, I’m so sor–” Kai started to apologise, cutting himself off when he noticed the dancer’s new outfit.

Lou was wearing a hoodie similar to Cole’s, the only differences being the few stitches on the sleeves where the elbows were and the colour having faded to a dark grey compared to the black it originally was. He still wore a pair of dark brown dress pants with black dress shoes, the sleeves of a white dress shirt barely visible under the hoodie. Despite his new messier hairstyle, his red bowtie was still as neat as ever.

Annoyed, the former Ultimate Dancer glared at Kai. “Can I help you?” he growled, voice husky. “You’re blocking my way.”

Kai realised he had been staring. “N-nothing,” he stuttered, “I just didn’t expect you to come out.”

“Well, I’m out now.” Lou sighed, looking away from the teenager. “I didn’t mean to startle you in any way.”

“It’s fine!” Kai let out an awkward laugh. “I was just surprised, that’s all.”

Lou rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I only came out to eat waffles. Now move.”

* * *

The scent of freshly made waffles made Kai’s stomach growl loudly the moment he stepped into the cafeteria. The remaining Ultimates were gathered around the dining table, everyone eating Zane’s cooking in silence. Kai took his usual seat, trying his best to ignore the empty chair next to him.

He could still imagine Cole’s laughter, the weightlifter happily chatting away with everyone else as he munched on Zane’s waffles. Lou telling him to stop talking with his mouth full. Chamile telling Lou to let Cole do what he wanted. Neuro telling her to stay out of their family matters.

A light tap on his shoulder brought him back from his imaginary world. Kai turned around to see Skylor, who was looking at him with a concerned look on her face. “You miss him, don’t you,” she asked.

Kai nodded. “Yeah, I guess I never really noticed how much he meant to me until he was gone.”

“In life, that is always bound to happen.” Zane walked out of the kitchen, carrying Kai’s plate of waffles and his own bowl of ice cream. Skylor tried her best to hold back her laughter at the pink floral apron Zane was wearing on top of all of his usual clothes that clashed with literally everything else he was wearing. The marksman noticed her failed attempt at not laughing, sighing as he sat down on Cole’s old seat. “My apron is not supposed to be a prop in a comedy act, Skylor. Please cease your laughter.”

“Son, no offence, but what in the world are you wearing?” Dr. Julien had noticed Zane’s return, raising an eyebrow at his son’s outfit. “Pink is not your colour.”

“Father, not you too!” Zane started to protest, prompting everyone else to break out into laughter at the marksman’s struggle to defend his apron.

Kai looked around the room, his gaze falling on Neuro and Lou, the only ones having no reaction to the situation. The scout was eating his breakfast silently, while the dancer was merely sulking and staring at his plate of waffles.

Out of the blue, Monokuma dropped from the ceiling, landing on Kai’s plate. “Hello my dear students and staff!”

“You again! What do you want?!” Kai drew his katana, pointing it at the robotic bear.

Monokuma held its paws up in defence. “Hey! Remember the rules: no harming the headmaster, Monokuma! Anyway, I’m here to inform all of you that you guys have gone one whole week without anymore deaths.”

“That’s wonderful!” Jay exclaimed.

“No!” Monokuma growled at the inventor. “That’s not wonderful. This is a killing game, SNORK it, not a ‘fight over apron colours’ game! By the way…” The bear turned around to face Zane. “I think your apron is horrendous. Which is perfect! Absolutely despair-inducing!”

“Uh, thank you?” Zane cautiously replied.

“You’re welcome! Now, catch!” Monokuma threw tapes at everyone, one tape per person. Kai nearly dropped his, while Lou’s one hit in right in the forehead.

Dr. Julien turned the tape in his hand around, looking for a title or note. “What is this, Monokuma? More videos of our family members and loved ones being tortured?”

“Nope,” Monokuma let out an evil laugh. “It’s video clips of your pasts!”

“Wait, so you’re giving us video tapes about ourselves?” Griffin asked, pointing at his tape in confusion.

The robot sighed. “No, no. See, the tapes are confirmed to not have clips of your past. So let’s say… Jacob over there won’t get a clip of his past. But maybe he could get a clip of Jay’s past instead!”

Kai looked down at the tape in his hand in horror. “So this is our new motive…?”

“Yup! Ten points to the ahoge boy!” Monokuma chuckled. “If a murder doesn’t occur within the next twenty-four hours, I’ll screen all of the clips back to back for everyone here to see. See ya’ll around!”

With a final salute, the bear disappeared under the table.

* * *

_**Proceed with Arc 2?** _

~~Yes~~   
~~No~~   
_**> Save Progress** _

_Progress saved. Proceeding with Arc 2..._


	15. Arc 2: A Promise Broken By Many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> charlie how you're angles get down liek dat

“I really shouldn’t.” Kai stared at the television opposite his bed, the tape Monokuma had given him resting on the table.

As soon as the bear had left, everyone had agreed to never look at the content on the tapes. After all, if no one was killed, everyone would end up seeing the clips at the same time anyway. The temptation to find out whose past was in his hands was starting to grow too strong to resist, though. The swordsman eventually found himself turning on the television, inserting the tape into the slot and sitting back on the bed.

_“Yesterday, a tragedy struck Ninjago City when a fire burnt down the home of a former athlete, taking the lives of the two occupants.”_

Out of all things, the thing Kai least expected was a news segment. The quality was grainy, as if it was from ages ago.

_“The deceased are retired track athlete Daryl Turner, and his daughter, Penelope Turner…”_

Kai froze at the mention of their names.

Their surnames were Turner.

_“We’re here with Ms Turner’s son, the Ultimate Track Athlete. Would you like to say a few words, Mister Turner?”_

_The camera shifted to show a young, brown-haired teen around Kai’s age. His red eyes and matching red aviators gave his identity away._

_Griffin Turner._

_“They will be missed.” Young Griffin was holding back tears, his grip on the microphone tightening with each heavy breath he took. “My grandpa was like a father to me, and my mom, well, she was just the most amazing person I’ve ever known.” A choked sob. “Grandpa was my inspiration. The entire reason I took up sports, even. And now he’s… gone.”_

_“Will this affect your studies in the Academy at all, Mister Turner?”_

_Young Griffin paused, tensing up as he continued to speak. “N-not at all,” he replied. “I need to continue to work on my studies. I-it’s what my grandpa and mom would have said.” Tears were starting to flow down his cheeks, the recording ending with the athlete falling to his knees and crying loudly._

Kai frowned. “This was supposed to push me into killing someone?” he mused. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Wrong!” Monokuma leaped up from under the bed, scaring Kai with his sudden appearance. “You might have gotten something you thought was mild, but imagine if someone who hated Turner got their hands on this tape. Then, they would be armed with the knowledge on how to make that annoying runner completely vulnerable for killing!”

“That’s just evil!” Kai exclaimed.

Monokuma sighed, shrugging nonchalantly in response. “Whatever! Now if you excuse me, I’ve got some popcorn to pop. See you!” The bear climbed under the bed again, leaving Kai alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Lou watched his clip in silence.

_“Zane, come here!” A young Dr. Julien ran up to his son, hugging the marksman tightly in his arms. The would-be marksman was still a child, laughing happily as the roboticist lifted him up into the air. “That’s my boy!”_

_“Papa!” The young Zane had a bright smile on his face, giggling when Julien brought him closer and kissed his forehead. “I love you, Papa!”_

The dancer clenched his fist, scowling at the happy father and son pair on the television.

_“Oh, Zane,” the roboticist smiled, “I just know that you’ll grow up to be a fine young man!”_

The remote in his fist broke.

* * *

Jacob just threw his tape in the trash.

“What’s the point in watching something you can’t even see?” he muttered to himself.

* * *

The next morning, everyone gathered in the cafeteria as usual. Despite their initial agreement to not watch the clips, it was obvious that most of them had gone ahead with watching the tapes anyway.

“So, uh, did everyone sleep well?” Jay tried to break the silence, earning him glares from most of the Ultimates instead. “Geez, you guys look like you’ve seen some ghosts!”

“Ghosts of our pasts, maybe.” Skylor muttered, shooting a death glare at Lou. “Or just nothing but the truth.”

“I beg your pardon?” Lou caught her glare, standing up suddenly and knocking his chair over by accident. “There’s no ‘truth’ in anything that robotic bear says! He’s feeding us nothing but lies in order to hurt those we love!”

Skylor scoffed, shoving another mouthful of pancakes into her mouth. Shade flipped his plate of pancakes over with a huff, earning a confused look from Zane as he stood up and promptly socked him in the jaw.

“Blake! What are you doing to my son?!” Julien exclaimed, rushing over to his son’s side. “You could have hurt him badly!”

“Shut it, Julien,” Shade growled, “I ain’t eating the food a murderer made.”

“Uh, pardon me,” Jay interrupted with an awkward cough, “but who’s Blake?”

“That’s his real name, you idiot.” Paleman explained, frowning at the scene unfolding in front of their eyes. “You didn’t think his name really was ‘Shade’, did you?”

“...Maybe I did.” Jay admitted. “I mean, does this mean that Ash’s name isn’t Ash?”

Tox chuckled, ignoring the argument ongoing between the roboticist and puppeteer. “It is, actually. Ash Coy, right?” The volcanologist nodded, causing the chemist to laugh again. “Some of us use stage names or alias, some of us don’t. Being famous can be stressful sometimes, so we use them to try and hide our identities.”

“That’s so cool!” Lloyd giggled, clapping his hands together. “Were we supposed to get cool names too when we graduated?”

“The Headmaster usually helps us to come up with a name,” Paleman continued, “and most of the time it ends up as something related to our talents. So Blake over there became ‘Shade’, and Camellia became ‘Chamile’, just to name a few.”

“Wow!” Lloyd exclaimed. “So can I be ‘The Green Ninja’?”

Tox shook her head. “Sadly, Lucksters are usually forgotten once their leave the school. No one really cares if you won a lottery through luck, apparently.”

“SNORK it.”

Jay nodded, trying to wrap his head around the news. “So, you’re not really called ‘Paleman’?”

“What? SNORK no!” The illusionist snorted at the idea. “My name’s Apollo. Who the SNORK would name their kid ‘Paleman’?!”

“The parents of the guy who choose his alias to be ‘Paleman’, maybe.” Griffin muttered, earning a middle finger directed at him from the illusionist. “Hey, you’ve got to admit that it’s a stupid name. Why not something cool, like, uh… ‘Cool-Light-Related-Name-That-Is-Also-Related-To-Magic’?”

“…What the SNORK is your problem, Turner.”

“Hey, can someone break those two up?” Bolobo pointed towards Julien and Blake/Shade, who were now fighting each other. “I mean, we really don’t need anymore dead people at the moment.”

Neuro sighed, getting up from his seat and slowly walking towards the duo. He quickly separated the two men, holding them both up by their collars. The scene caused a few of the Ultimates to burst into laughter, the loudest coming from Apollo/Paleman and Zane.

Kai nervously laughed along, still remembering what the puppeteer had said prior to fighting with Julien.

Zane was a killer.

What would stop him from killing one of them?

* * *

**[did it work]**

_“I hope it did.”_


	16. Arc 2: The Scout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> grifin's gey for norma

“So Camellia wanted to kill me to bring Victoria with her.”

“Yes.”

“Cole did not want to admit his crime in order to bring Lou with him.”

“Makes sense.”

Julien frowned at the reply, turning back to make eye contact with his son. “Zane, I called you over to discuss the murder. Not to senselessly agree to everything I say.”

The Ultimate Marksman shrugged, placing the gun he was cleaning onto the table between them. “Father,” he started to reply, “you know that I’d love to discuss it, and everyone’s still mourning them, not to mentions that we’re now faced with the threat of the clips Monokuma gave us. But this is Cole’s death we’re talking about here.” Zane bit his lip, pausing for a while. “Cole was like a brother to me. It’s not easy pretending that I’ve gotten over his sacrifice in front of everyone… especially Mr. Brookstone himself.”

“I understand,” Julien nodded sadly, “but we need to work together on this to try and prevent the next murder. You experienced Blake’s reaction to his clip firsthand, son. Imagine what would have happened if he decided to take that a step further.”

“I’m not weak, Father. I would be able to fight him off.” Zane puffed out his chest with pride. “I’m the Ultimate Marksman! Never missed a shot, and never will!”

Julien sighed, frustrated that Zane had missed the point. “That is the reason, Zane! Knowing you, you would end up killing him on accident.”

Zane faked an offended gasp. “Are you saying that I lack self-control, father? It’s true that I take pride in my work, but to say that I would kill an innocent man is taking it too far.”

“Why are you not taking any of this seriously, Zane?!” Julien slammed his fist against his desk, scaring the marksman. “People’s lives are at stake! Two of the Ultimates are dead, and their deaths caused two more Ultimates to become depressed! Nothing about this scenario is a laughing matter!”

“I’m sorry,” Zane lowered his head in shame, unable to bring himself to look his father in the eyes. “You’re right, I should be taking this seriously…”

Just then, someone started knocking at their door. Zane got up, ignoring his father’s warning to stay put. He opened the door, revealing Skylor on the other side. “Ah, hello Skylor! Come on in.” The spy smiled, bowing respectfully as she stepped into the room. Zane closed the door, raising an eyebrow at her sudden arrival. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I just wanted to ask Dr. Julien about an old Ultimate.” She took a seat on the couch, next to where Zane had been sitting. “I got their tape, and there’s something that’s been bothering me about the clip.”

Julien turned his chair around to face Zane and Skylor. “An old Ultimate? Who are you referring to?”

“Well, I don’t actually know,” she admitted. “All I know is that they used to date Lou and that their hair was black. I got the video of their breakup…”

Julien groaned, resting his head against a propped up arm. “Ugh, I really hate talking about this. Are you ready to find out more about why some Ultimates use aliases?”

Zane and Skylor both sat up straight, listening attentively to what the roboticist had to say.

“The man in your video is Norman Giles,” Julien explained, “the then-Ultimate Psychologist.”

“Psychologist?” Zane and Skylor shared a look. “Isn’t that Neuro’s title?”

Julien rolled his eyes at the interruption. “I was about to explain that before you two interrupted me. Yes, Neuro is the former Ultimate Psychologist. And so is Norman, because they are the same person.”

“But the two of them looked extremely different,” Skylor muttered, "what the SNORK could have happened?”

“Norman was raised under extremely harsh conditions, so he had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that what he and Lou had back then was quite unhealthy.” Julien twiddled his thumbs nervously. “Lou was never committed throughout their time together, and Norman was often too shy to take the initiative for anything. It was more like Lou keeping him around for his own amusement. I am glad that Lou has changed his ways, though it took his wife leaving him to finally learn that.”

“You’re getting sidetracked, Father.”

“Oh, right, back to Norman.” Julien rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, he had trouble handling the news, so he, uh, disappeared for a year or so. When he returned, ‘Neuro’ is what he became. He refuses to acknowledge his old self, and despite the fact that he seems to have a good relationship with Lou, well, trust me when I say that Norman hates his guts.”

“Is his hate strong enough to make him kill Lou?” Skylor asked, trying her best to maintain her composure. “I mean, who knows if he managed to get Lou’s clip?”

Julien shook his head. “I certainly hope not. After all, both of them were the most affected by the previous ‘round’. We really do not need anymore murders.”

Skylor nodded, standing up and making her way back to the door. “Thanks for the info, doc. Now if you excuse me,” she bowed politely, “I’m gonna have a talk with Kai. We agreed that we would exchange info on our tapes, so he went to talk to Tox and I decided to come to you. See ya!”

* * *

“Hello? Is someone there?” Neuro cautiously stepped into the library, looking around for the person who had asked him there. “It’s Neuro. Or, as your note said, ‘Norman’. I don’t have all day, so you better come out and show yourself before I leave.”

Someone stepped out from behind a bookshelf, quickly pouncing on the scout and pushing him to the ground. The stranger suddenly burst into laughter, pulling him into a tight hug. Neuro panicked, relaxing once he realised who the other person was. “Turner, what the SNORK are you doing?”

The former Ultimate Track Athlete chuckled, nuzzling Neuro’s cheek with a bright smile on his face. “Just showing how much I like you, Norman.”

Neuro flinched at that name. “I told you never to call me that. He’s dead.”

Griffin frowned, pulling the other man closer. “Norman, I know what you went through was… bad. But please, you don’t have to keep hiding your pain. We’re friends, remember? Friends don’t hide stuff from each other.”

“I told you to never call me that, Turner!” Neuro tried to push him away, only to be pulled even closer. “SNORK it! We’re not friends, and we’ll never be!”

“Norman, you promised me that you wouldn’t forget me, remember?” He pulled off his aviators, revealing his red eyes which had tears quickly building up. “Come on man, you can’t be serious? I mean, I saved your life!”

There was no reply.

“…Norman, please? Something, anything, just straight up reject me, if you want. Just don’t ignore me.”

“He’s dead, Turner,” Neuro tried to scowl, only to let out a choked sob. “P-please, just leave me alone!”

“No, I won’t leave you alone! You promised me!” Griffin was staring to shout, the tears finally starting to stream down his cheeks. “You told me you wouldn’t forget!”

“Turner, please!” Neuro was starting to cry too, struggling against the athlete’s grasp. “I really don’t want to hurt you!”

“YOU’RE ALL THAT I HAVE LEFT! YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO ISN’T DEAD YET!” Griffin was screaming now, tightening his grip on the scout. “PLEASE JUST TELL ME THAT YOU CARE!”

“Y-you leave me with no choice, Turner…” Neuro reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small knife. “I’m sorry I had to do this.”

He plunged the blade into the athlete’s shoulder, causing him to scream loudly as he let go of the scout. “I’ll be right back!” Neuro exclaimed, scrambling for the door. “I won’t leave you behind… not this time! Just don’t pull out the knife and you’ll have some extra time!” He dashed out of the room, wanting making a beeline for the cafeteria. He was about to run past the bathrooms and towards the staircase, when he saw a familiar face lying face up in a pool of their own blood.

“OH SNORK ME!”

* * *

Just as he had put back his aviators, Griffin heard Neuro’s scream. The injured athlete went against the instructions he was given, pulling out the knife and flinching at the blood that started to flow down his arm. He stumbled towards the door, fumbling with the knob and falling flat on his face when he successfully got it open. Griffin tried to break into a run, the blood from his wound leaving a trail as he made he way over to where he had heard Ne–no, Norman–scream.

“I-is everything thing all…” Griffin followed the scout’s terrified gaze towards the corpse. Without hesitation, he grabbed Norman by the arm with his uninjured arm, pulling him towards the staircase. “…We have to tell the others. Now!”


	17. Arc 2: Going Off On A Tangent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> normy and grff have talk about feels

"Attention all students! A body has been discovered! You will be given a short amount of time to investigate, before the first Class Trial begins. Now get to it!”

Norman and Griffin stopped outside the cafeteria, neither expecting the body announcement to play on their way to tell the others. Granted, they did take a detour to patch up the athlete’s stab wound, the Nurse’s Room was not far from the cafeteria. Just as they were about to open the doors, Jay dashed out of the cafeteria, one of the doors hitting Griffin right in the face. “Who got killed?” he asked the scout, not noticing the fallen athlete.

Norman rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, it was–”

“Where’s the body?!” Tox ran out as well, slamming the door right into Griffin again.

“S-second floor, outside the women’s restroom.” Norman shuddered when he recalled the state of the body. “It was heavily mutilated.”

“No SNORK, Neuro…” Griffin got back on his feet, readjusting his aviators with a huff. As he started to fill Tox and Jay in on the details of the corpse, Norman found himself stealing a glance at the athlete.

Griffin had taken off his usual track jacket, tying it around his waist instead. They had found a white t-shirt while they were patching up his wound, which he now wore over his usual singlet to hide the bandages from the others. Norman let his gaze move to the athlete’s face, where his attention was now caught by the red aviators he always wore. It was his grandfather’s signature accessory, the way people would recognise a Turner in public. A possible family heirloom?

Despite his looks, the scout knew something was not right. Something about the athlete was different that day, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

As soon as Tox and Jay left to examine the body, Norman dragged Griffin back to the Nurse’s Room, the athlete protesting the entire way. He locked the door behind them, hoping that no one would interrupt them while they talked.

“What the SNORK was that for, Norman?” Griffin grumbled with a hint of annoyance. “We’re supposed to be helping the others find evidence and stuff, so that we don’t end up dead…”

Norman shook his head. “You saw how Kai pulled through the trial last time. If he had that much evidence without our help, I’m sure he’ll do fine with Victoria and Jay’s help. I mean, especially since Victoria’s an actual scientist…”

“Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to help.”

“Oh really?” Norman narrowed his eyes. “I don’t recall you being even near the scene of the crime last time.”

Griffin pulled off his aviators, turning them slowly in his hands. He kept his gaze on them, refusing to look up at the scout.

“Turner.”

Silence.

“Griffin Turner.”

The athlete shook his head.

“Griffin, please.” Norman grabbed the athlete’s hand, nearly causing him to drop the aviators. “Look, we really need this talk.”

Griffin scowled. “Says the one who stabbed me because I tried to talk with him first.”

“I was…” Norman finally sighed. “Yeah, I’m sorry that I stabbed you. You just made me a bit uncomfortable, that’s all.”

“I got Lou’s tape,” Griffin muttered, shocking the scout. “I didn’t know that he’s the reason why you changed that much, you know.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“He treated you like an accessory!” Griffin grabbed Norman by the tie, pulling him close to his own face. The scout’s eyes widen when he realised that there were tears in the brunette’s red eyes, threatening to spill at any moment. “That SNORKnever saw you as an equal! He ignored you, didn’t reply to your calls, never even said ‘hi’ to you whenever you guys walked past each other!”

Norman was at a lost for words. He tried to say something to defend the dancer, only to shake his head instead. “Let’s drop the subject.”

Griffin’s grip on the tie grew tighter. “We aren’t dropping this SNORKing subject because I have no idea why else you dragged me here!”

“I dragged you here to get you to explain why the you were so desperate for me to say I cared about you.” Norman was trying his best to maintain his composure, refusing to continue with the topic about his relationship with Lou. “So please, just tell me what’s the matter.”

Griffin hesitated for a bit, before leaning forward and pulling Norman into a kiss.

The scout panicked, pushing the athlete away from him roughly. “WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!”

Griffin lowered his gaze, the tears in his eyes finally falling as he started to cry. “I-I’m so sorry Norman…” He dropped the aviators, a lens cracking once they hit the floor. “I c-couldn’t stop myself.”

Norman was taken aback. He never saw Griffin cry before.

“I just wanted to tell you how much I loved you!” The athlete let go of the scout’s tie. “I know you don’t like me back. I know you never want to acknowledge that we ever knew each other prior to the Academy. But I fell hard for you when you left. You helped me when the fire happened, and I thought that just maybe…” Griffin took a sharp breath. “Maybe you really did care.”

“Griffin, I–”

“SHUT UP!” Norman gasped when Griffin got up, walking off towards the door. Just as he was about to leave, the athlete suddenly turned back, glaring at the scout. “I thought you cared. But you know what?” He shook his head. “I can’t believe it took you stabbing me when I needed you most to find out that you hated my guts!”

Norman was tried to chase after him, following him up the stairs as he kept calling out the athlete’s name. Griffin tried to get away, quickly turning around a corner. He suddenly stopped, staring at the scene before him in shock.

Lou was holding the corpse of Skylor, the dancer dropping it the moment he saw the athlete. He suddenly pulled out a knife from his hoodie’s pocket, lunging for Griffin with a shout.

Griffin dodged, sidestepping the dancer's sloppy attempt at an attack. He kicked him away, forcing Lou to drop the knife.

Just then, Norman arrived, screaming in horror when he saw Skylor's corpse for the second time that day. Lou grumbled, making a move for the knife. Griffin reached out, grabbing him by the ankles and tossing him away from the scout.

He was thrown down the stairs, landing at the bottom with a sickening crack.

“G-Griffin, what did you–?!"

Griffin slowly approached Norman, stopping in front of him. Just as the scout raised his arms to protect himself, Griffin fell to his knees, kneeling as he stared at him with a blank expression. “Norman, I have a request.”

Norman frowned, crouching down to meet the athlete’s gaze. “W-what is it?”

“Go find the others…” Griffin let out a heavy sigh. “And tell them that I killed Lou. Because she killed Skylor.”

“Y-you’re not going to try and defend yourself?” Norman asked in surprise.

Griffin shook his head. “No.”

Norman bit his lip, standing up with a short huff. “Fine. I’ll go tell them, if that’s what you really want.”

“Please do.”

* * *

The slot machine came to a stop, landing on all three icons of the Former Ultimate Track Athlete.

“Aw, this trial wasn’t any fun either!” Monokuma let out a growl of frustration. “You just  _had_ to carry out the whole ‘self-sacrifice’ thing, didn’t you!”

Griffin just smiled. “So what if I did? It was better than watching everyone die because of a lack of evidence.”

“Thus you killed him,.”Kai muttered, glaring daggers at the athlete.

“Whatever,” Griffin replied, rolling his eyes, hidden behind the cracked aviators he was wearing. No one bothered to ask why they were cracked. No one cared.

“Alright, now shut up you SNORKs!” Monokuma spun its gavel in its hand. “I have a very special execution, just for our  _lovely hero_ , the Former Ultimate Track Athlete!”

Griffin nodded. He took off his aviators, keeping his eyes closed as he waited for Monokuma to activate his execution.

“W-wait!” Norman finally spoke up, having stayed silent the entire trial. He turned to the robotic bear, fear in his eyes. “Can I tell him something first?”

Monokuma growled angrily. “Fine! Go do your stupid lovers thing before I kill him, alright!”

Norman hesitated, before leaving his stand to approach Griffin. Letting out a sigh, he pressed his lips against the athlete’s, pulling back immediately. The athlete kept his eyes closed, although he held out the aviators for the scout. “Take them. You’ll feel much better with them on.”

With a heavy heart, Norman took the aviators, placing them gently on his face.

“Alright alright! Time to get this show on the road!” Monokuma spun his gavel again, sitting upright in its throne. "Let’s give it everything we’ve got!”

“I’m sorry, Norman.”

_**“IT’S PUNISHMENT TIME!”** _

* * *

COMMENCING EXECUTION: FINAL LAP

Griffin was dropped at the starting line of a circular running track, landing awkwardly on his right foot and letting out a yelp of pain. He stretched slightly and got into a starting position, expecting his talent to be put to the test as Cole’s was.

Sure enough, a Monokuma dressed like a referee appeared out of nowhere, raising a green flag up high with a whistle in its mouth. It blew once on the instrument, waving the flag downward. Griffin started running on instinct, starting off with a slow jog to save his energy.

Suddenly, a large mechanical version of Monokuma popped up behind him, letting out a feral snarl as it started chasing the athlete.

Griffin wanted to slow down and let the creature take him away, but fear overtook him, forcing him to run as fast as he could on the track.

At first, he was too fast for the robotic bear to catch him.

After his first five laps, he started to lose his pace, slowing down just by a bit as he continued to outrun the Monokuma.

Another five more laps passed and he started panting heavily, the robotic bear starting to catch up to him as he struggled to stay in the lead.

One more lap. Griffin was almost about to reach the finish line, only to trip over a tripwire which had sprung out from the ground. The Monokuma quickly closed the gap, slowing down once it was right in front of Griffin.

Its jaw extended, revealing its sharp fangs for just a split second before it ate Griffin whole.

The Monokuma made a few exaggerated chewing noises, swallowing after a while and letting out a loud burp.

FORMER ULTIMATE TRACK ATHLETE GRIFFIN TURNER'S EXECUTION: EXECUTED

* * *

“Well, that was surprisingly easy.” Kai commented causally. “He didn’t even put up a fight.”

Norman was silent, keeping his gaze on the floor.

“Neuro, do you have anything to say about it?”

“My name isn’t Neuro anymore.” The Former Ultimate Psychologist looked up, a newfound sense of determination evident in his eyes. “I’m Norman Giles! Former Ultimate Psychologist! And I’m not letting anyone put me down!”

* * *

“…Norman, is everything okay?” The scout found himself in the Nurse’s Room, accompanied by Griffin. “Dude, you passed out after we told the others about the corpse. I had to carry you the whole way, do you know how hard that was?”

Norman just let out a sigh of relief.

“Norman, you’re kind of freaking me out here.”

“It’s nothing, but could you tell me what happened with the corpse and stuff? I think I need a refresher…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yms adam voice: "it was all a dream"


	18. Arc 2: An Interesting Intruder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey said the normans, eating the entire griffin for breakfast.
> 
> uhh also lou throws up somewhere, i'll mark that part with two SNARKs and yall can skip it
> 
> it's not really that important. i think

Dr. Julien sighed as he approached the corpse, drawing the attention of those who were already there. “You sure took your SNORKed time, doc.” Blake glared at the roboticist when he crouched beside him. “Any slower and the corpse would probably have rotted away.”

“At least I’m not complaining about having to examine a corpse, Terrell.” Julien snarked back. “I clearly remember you complaining about having to touch a dead body five minutes ago.”

Blake let out an offended gasp. “W-well, I’m not used to seeing dead bodies, since I don’t have a murderer as a son!”

“You don’t even have a son. I bet you can’t even find a date!”

“Watch it, old man!”

Kai rolled his eyes at the bickering pair. “Guys, let’s have some respect for the dead. Go fight somewhere else when we’re done with the Class Trial.”

Skylor nodded. “He’s right, you know. We need to start the investigation, and fast.”

"Hold up," Kai stood up suddenly, bowing towards the corpse with his eyes closed.

"What the SNORK are you doing."

"Paying respect to the deceased, obviously." The swordsman took a deep breath, turning his attention to the corpse once again. "Now let's get started."

* * *

**_Investigation Start!_ **

“Kai, look at this!” Skylor tugged lightly on the swordsman’s sleeve, pointing at the neck of the corpse. “There’s a green bandana around its neck!”

Julien leaned closer, adjusting his glasses as he took a look at the aforementioned bandana. “We should use ‘they’ to describe the victim, Miss Chen, but you are right. There is, indeed, a green bandana around the victim’s neck. Which means,” the roboticist paused at the realisation. “This corpse is either Misako or Lloyd, and we just saw Lloyd in the cafeteria…"

"We're outside the girls' bathroom, so it should be Misako, right?" Skylor glanced at the sign on the bathroom door, furrowing her eyebrows. "That makes the killer either a girl, or someone who snuck the corspe into the bathroom. If it's the second, why would the killer do that?"

Kai stepped over the corpse, reaching out to grasp the handle of the bathroom door. Before he could open the door, Julien swatted his hand away, frowning at the swordsman. "Mister Smith, just what do you think you were about to do?"

"Uh, go inside to check if it's the place where the victim was killed?" Kai answered in confusion, looking down at the corpse. "There's a suspicious lack of blood, and as the case was with Camellia, no blood means it's the wrong place…"

"This is the ladies' bathroom," Julien stated flatly. "It is extremely disrespectful for us to enter, since we are not female."

Blake snorted, rolling his eyes. "Screw society's expectations, Doc. We're literally investigating a murder scene, there's bound to be exceptions to such 'rules'."

"But–" Julien started to protest, only for the puppeteer to ignore him and enter the bathroom. "SNORK it, where  _is_  that cursed bear when you need it?!"

"Right here, Doctor Impatient!" Monokuma dropped in from the ceiling, landing a few inches away from the corpse. It paused to study the corpse with exaggerated motions, only to shrug nonchalantly at the roboticist. "Yup, this here is a 100% bonafide dead body! I classify the victim as absolutely, positively deceased! Victim's so dead, even the dodos envy them!"

Julien tapped his foot in annoyance. "Do not waste our time with your pointless antics. Where is the Monokuma File for this case, and are we allowed to go into the ladies' bathroom for this case?"

Monokuma twirled for a bit, the robotic bear deep in thought. "Well, I  _just_  sent the Monokuma Files to your IDs. As for the entering the toilet thing… I let the puppeteer in without punishment. What do you think the answer to that question is?"

"…Yes?"

"Bingo!" Monokuma shook its head in disappointment. "Although, I'm extremely upset that I have to give you all the answers like this… it's almost as if I'm just here to drive the plot forward!"

Blake came out of the bathroom, eying Monokuma curiously. "Just saw a huge pool of blood inside… does this confirm that Misako died a [Joke Has Been Lost In Snorklation] death?"

"Please tell me that pun was unintentional."

"Sadly, I thought I should inject some humour into this __[Joke Has Been Lost In Snorklation] situation."

Julien groaned, turning away from the grinning puppeteer. Kai rolled his eyes at them, before making his way into the bathroom.

Just as Blake said, there was a large pool of blood in one of the open stalls. The toilet seat was closed, although no blood was on it or the tank. "Strange," Kai thought to himself. "Why isn't there blood on the toilet?"

_ "Clean Toilet" added to inventory. _

Kai carefully avoided the blood, opening the lid of the tank to glance inside. To his surprise, the tank was completely dry, the space where water was supposed to be instead occupied by a mysterious red book. The swordsman took it out, gently placing it into the small bag he now carried around.

_ "Dry Tank" added to inventory. _

_ "Red Book" added to inventory. _

"I'll read that later," he whispered to himself. Reaching into the bag, Kai pulled out his own ElectroID, scrolling through the rules to get to the latest edition of the Monokuma File.

_"Victim is Misako Garmadon(?), the former Ultimate Historian. Corpse has been found in extrmely terrible condition, covered from head to toe in slash marks. Victim vomited multiple times prior to her death, and blood is present in her airways due to haemorrhaging. No other external injuries are present. Cause of death is poison."_

_ "Monokuma File” added to inventory. _

"Poison? That's the best we can get?" Kai frowned at the final sentence of the report, unsatisfied with the answer. "There's got to be a more specific answer…"

"Sorry, can't give ya the full deets–" Monokuma suddenly spammed, sparking as its red eye blinked furiously for a while before changing to blue. "Don't question it. You guys have a chemistry person on your team, no?"

"Yeah, we have the former Ultimate… Chemist…" Kai stared at the bear in confusion. "Hey… what happened to your voice?"

"I can't talk for long. If they find out I hacked this unit, I'm done for." The Monokuma looked around, making sure no one else was around. "Look, my name is Demetri. You know me as Deputy Headmaster Garmadon."

"Garmadon…?"

"Hush now. I'm working for the Mastermind… to make sure that Lloyd and Misako stay safe. Although," the unit briefly glanced at the pool of blood, "I see that the deal we had is now off."

Kai nodded along, unsure as to how to reply.

"I'm going to tell you who killed my wife."

"Wait, what?"

The hacked Monokuma unit nodded. "Once I tell you who killed her, you must promise me that you'll do everything in your power to stop them. Get ready to have an interesting fight against a skilled liar with a silver tongue."

Kai hesitated, before nodding in agreement. "Alright, tell me."

* * *

SNARK

 

Lou laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling in silence.

Yes, he heard the body announcement.

Yes, he knew that he should be helping.

Yes, yes, and yes.

The thing is, he saw no purpose in going to find the body. He could not help, after all. What good would a dancer be for a situation needing science? He would just be a nuisance. A thorn in their sides.

He glanced at the worn-out hoodie tossed carelessly onto the couch, the fraying fabric standing out next to the suit jacket by its side. Lou felt a pang of pain in his chest, forcing himself to forget the screams of his deceased son during his execution.

"Perhaps…"

Lou sat up, slowly walking off to the bathroom. He looked around for the item he wanted, grabbing it tightly in his right hand once he found it.

A razor blade.

The dancer strengthed his grip, feeling the sharp edges of the blade cutting deep into his palm. He shivered slightly as the warm blood flowed down his arm, staining the white dress shirt he wore crimson. When he was finally satisfied with the sensation, he dropped the blade into the sink, listening to the metallic noises of it colliding with the ceramic.

Lou then moved to the toilet, kneeling down in front of it before shoving a few fingers down his throat. It did not take long for him to start throwing up, coughing and spluttering between batches of bile mixed with various lumps of questionable substances.

Finally satisfied with the damage he had inflicted on his body, Lou collapsed on the bathroom floor, the cold marble tiles causing him to shiver upon contact.

If only Cole could see him then.

 

SNARK

* * *

Kai clenched his fists tightly as he stepped out of the bathroom, ignoring the questioning looks from Julien and Skylor as he stormed off to his room. Throwing open the door, the swordsman frantically grabbed a notebook and pen, roughly slamming them onto his desk.

Kai took a deep breath.

He needed a plan, and  _fast_.


	19. Arc 2: Trial of History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Trial for Misako begins.
> 
> All rise!
> 
> tick snork on the snork but the party don't snork no

"Hey, where have you been?" Skylor was the first to approach Kai, the swordsman merely glancing at her before walking off to stand next to Zane. "Kai, I'm talking to you!"

"Zane, you remember what we agreed on?" Kai's voice was barely above a whisper, just loud enough for Zane to hear. "We have one shot at nabbing the killer."

Zane slowly nodded. "It'll be hard, but we should be able to pull it off. You got Tox on our side, right?"

"Mhm." Kai shot a quick glance in the killer's direction, although they were too busy checking their ElectroID to notice. "She'll be annoucing the cause of death, but you'll have to wait until the right moment before you'll know where the problem is."

Just as the swordsman finished his sentence, the rusted metal gates of the elevator slammed together yet again. Like the previous time, there was a short pause before the metal cage started to descend.

"So Monokuma was right when he said there'd be more than one round," Zane mumbled to himself, fiddling with the grip of his gun. "And to think no one learnt from what had happen…"

"I'm sure what happened was a completely different case, son." Julien did not sound very convinced, despite the encouraging smile he wore on his face. "Misako wouldn't try to kill anyone, especially since…"

Lloyd let out an irriated grunt. "Can't this stupid elevator go any faster? I want to know who killed my mom!"

"Patience, young grasshopper…" Monokuma popped up behind the luckster, causing the teen to jump in surprise. The bear was wearing a straw hat, with metal lining around the edges. "Good things come to those who wait."

Norman's eyes widened in shock when he saw the hat. "Monokuma, doesn't that hat belong to Headmaster Wu?"

"Excuse you!" The bear angrily pointed in the scout's direction. "I'm the Headmaster! Not Wu Garmadon!"

"W-well…" Norman struggled to find the right words. "I meant Wu Garmadon, not 'Headmaster' Wu, since you're the new Headmaster, and Wu is… uh…"

"Oh, be quiet." Lou muttered, glaring at the scout from his corner in the elevator. "You're always messing things up."

"But seriously," Jay interrupted Norman's response. "What happened to Wu?"

Monokuma twirled for a bit, coming to a stop when the elevator suddenly jerked and halted its descent. "Well, if you all successfully survive the next trial, I'll show you guys right after the execution!"

 _"We have arrived at the courtroom. Please enter and take your respective seats!"_ The speaker played the same clip as before.

Twenty Ultimates had been trapped in the school.

Two Ultimates had been murdered.

One Ultimate had been executed.

Seventeen Ultimates will enter the courtroom.

Now, either sixteen Ultimates will leave the courtroom, with one having to face the consequences of their actions, or an Ultimate would walk out of a massacre, rising above them all with nothing but the guilt of having killed eighteen others in their quest for freedom.

Kai shared a quick look with Zane, the butterflies in his stomach fluttering endlessly. "Round two," he thought to himself, "here we go again."

* * *

Just like the previous trial, the Ultimates shuffled over to their respective stands. This time, Misako's stand was occupied by a black and white stand with a photo of the deceased historian, crossed out in a similar manner to Camellia's photo. Cole's stand also had a photo, although his was crossed out differently: rocks were lined up at the top, arranged in a manner which resembled a rockfall. There was a bright pink bloodsplatter covering the deceased weightlifter's face.

Kai looked down at his witness stand, raising an eyebrow at the sleek metal replacing the worn out wood from before. He looked around the courtroom, feeling out of place in the room filled with advanced technology, numerous strings of garbled yellow digital code running across each screen.

“Now, let’s begin with a simple explanation of the Class Trial! Your votes, that is, the votes of everyone currently alive in this room, will determine the conclusion of our humble trials. If you correctly deduce who the killer is, and the majority votes for the murderer of our dearly departed, then only the ‘blackened’ will receive punishment. However, the opposite will happen if the majority does not vote for the ‘blackened’. Long story short, they’ll go free, the rest of you die. Vote correctly, only they die. Sounds good? Then let’s begin with a summary of the case!”

"Monokuma…" Julien looked up at the bear, who was sitting in its usual throne. "Do you have to say that every time we start a trial?"

The robot shrugged. "It's in my code. I think."

"You don't even know what's in your own code?" Apollo looked astounded. "Who built you?!"

"Spoilers, spoilers!" Monokuma held up a large sign with the exact same words printed in large, bold font. "Can't tell ya! Wait for the finale!"

The illusionist let out a frustrated groan. "We can't wait that long! The readers will lose interest by then! Especially not with the author's ridiculous update schedule…"

"Uh," Blake hesitantly tapped the illusionist's shoulder. "No offence, but what the SNORK are you two talking about."

"Nothing!" The illusionist cheerfully replied. "It's not time yet to explain that."

Norman rolled his eyes. "I'll start us off with the case summary," he announced, cutting off Blake's reply. "The victim is the former Ultimate Historian, and mother of the current Ultimate Luckster, Misako Garmadon. She was found outside the second floor women's bathroom, corpse heavily mutilated."

"According to the Monokuma File's autopsy, her cause of death was poison." Norman cast a glance at Monokuma. "The File, however, does not state whether the wounds were posthumously inflicted."

Jay raised his hand. "Uh, what does 'posthumously' mean?"

"It means 'after the victim died'." Bolobo seemed a bit irritated. "Did you fail Biology?"

"Never took it," Jay replied sheepishly, prompting Bolobo to sigh loudly.

"The real question is how and why she was mutilated," Skylor spoke up, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "What was the weapon used to cause the wounds, and why would the killer want to cut her up that badly?" 

 

**Nonstop Debate #1**

Skylor: "The only people who should have blades as part of their talents should be me, Kai, and Zane."

Julien: "…I am just going to ignore the possible grammatical error in that sentence."

Skylor: "Geez, thanks doc."

Jacob: "What's stoping the murder from using a knife from the kitchen?"

Zane: "Aside from Neuro and Griffin, and the victim herself, the rest of us were in the cafeteria."

Skylor: "I was in the kitchen preparing lunch, and none of the blades were missing."

 

"It's no good," Kai thought. "I don't have enough evidence to break through the possible lies in that segment…"

Zane noticed the look of worry on his neighbour's face. "There has to be someone with evidence here," he whispered.

"The problem is we need the person who does have it to speak up." Kai rubbed his temples. "But how?"

Zane looked around for a bit, his eyes widening when the solution hit him. "Don't you think something's odd about someone here?"

"You mean aside from the killer?"

Zane nodded. "I'll bring it up. Maybe we might get a new lead from there."

The marksman took a breath, focusing on the small details on everyone in the room. The focus he used to guarantee his kills back on the battlefield.

He felt everything. The way Jay rocked on his heels as he debated with the others, the soft wheezing from Griffin, each individual strand of Skylor's ponytail as her head swung back and forth.

Pause. He felt it.

"Mister Turner, why are you wheezing?"

Griffin turned in his direction, an eyebrow raised behind his aviators. "What are you talking about kid? My breathing's fine."

"You sound like you're in pain, sir." Zane pointed towards the track jacket around the athlete's waist. "And you aren't wearing your jacket. From what I recall about previous interviews, you wear that jacket everywhere, even in high temperatures. Could I inquire as to why you aren't wearing it now?"

Kai smirked when he saw Griffin tense up. Gotcha.

"It's just a jacket," Griffin replied, his voice slightly shaky. "Nothing special."

"That's where you're wrong!" Kai exclaimed. "That jacket has a very strong connection with your past."

"BullSNORK."

Kai shook his head. "It's your grandfather's signature jacket…" He grinned. "Are you sure your grandpa didn't have any influence in your life?"

"Enough." Norman glanced at Griffin for a split second before focusing on Kai. "He got injured. That's why he's not wearing the jacket."

"How did you get hurt, Griffin?" Kai thought back to the athlete's claim of being in the library prior the discovery. "Paper cut? Book fell on you?"

Griffin looked away, causing Norman to sigh as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a sheathed knife. "I did."

"Ha!" Kai pointed at the knife in the scout's hand truimphly. "See? Someone else has a knife!"

"It's definitely not the correct one that caused the wounds, though." Norman unsheathed the knife, holding it out for everyone to see. The blade had a serrated edge. "My blade would have caused a much bigger mess. More blood, more exposed flesh, the works. In contrast, the wounds were relatively clean. That rules my blade, and by extension, me, out as the cause of those wounds."

"…why do you know that?"

Norman casually ignored Jay's question.

"So where does this bring us?" Slylor asked. "We have four people with blades, and one has been ruled out."

"Well," Zane took out a small dagger from his belt. "Kai has a sword, so if he had cut up Misako, there would be imprints of the guard on the corpse. This rules him out, so the only ones still not proven innocent with blades would be you and I."

Skylor let out a laugh. "Oh please, you all know I'm innocent. Misako and I had no bad blood whatsoever!"

Zane shook his head. "Guilty until proven innocent, especially in our circumstances. So please, show us your blade."

The Ultimate Spy opened her mouth to say something, only to close it and look away with an embarrassed look. "I..." Skylor forced a smile. "I lost my blade. I don't know where it went."

"Are the cuts on Misako's body really that important?" Kai interrupted. "It doesn't add anything to the case, even if we found out who did cut her up."

"What are you saying, Kai?" Zane seemed confused by his interruption. "Any evidence we can get is important, no?"

"What I'm saying, is that those cuts are actually a distraction."

Apollo hummed in agreement. "Yeah, we did kinda waste eight hundred and thirty-one words and one whole Non-stop Debate on the topic."

"Were you seriously counting?!"

"No. I used Word Counter."

Zane rolled his eyes at the bickering pair. "Kai, why would someone go through all of that effort to cut Misako's corpse up so badly as a distraction? It just doesn't make sense!"

"Because no one had bad blood with Misako, so the cuts clearly weren't made based off hate…" Kai cast a quick glance at the killer, noticing their sudden tense posture. "And the wounds were made after she died, so they were made as an afterthought!" He turned towards Monokuma's throne. "Hey! Monokuma! I've got a question for you!"

The bear slowly turned its head to Kai. "What? You ready to start the voting process?"

"No, definitely not that," Kai replied quickly. "I wanted to know if there's a time limit for our trials."

"Oh, that?" Monokuma chuckled loudly. "Of course there's a limit! The moment we hit three thousand words, the Trial can start to end!"

"And as of that sentence, we're at one thousand, nine hundred and sixty-six words," Apollo added. "Oh, nevermind. Once I'm done talking we'd be at nine hundred and ninety-five."

"Then whoever killed Misako knows about this 'word count' limit!" Kai shot a look at Apollo. "Someone like… you!"

* * *

"Kid, have you lost your mind?" Apollo let out a laugh. "Why the SNORK would I kill Misako?"

Kai clenched a fist. "You're an illusionist, you'd know all the ins and outs of hiding a crime scene!"

"Look, Smith." Blake suddenly spoke up, shooting a death glare at Kai. "I know Apollo better than anyone here. SNORK, we're cousins. And I know for a fact that if he were to kill anyone, it'd never, ever, be Misako."

"Yeah, and being cousins is exactly why you would want to defend him!" Kai slammed his fist down on his stand. "You saw how the last trial went down. Familial ties are just gonna get in the way here!"

Lou flinched slightly at the statement, while Zane shot Kai a quick warning glare. "What the SNORK are you doing?!" he hissed.

"I know what I'm doing. Just watch me," Kai replied. Taking a breath, the Ultimate Swordsman got ready to face off against the Ultimate Shadow Puppeteer. 

 

**REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN**

Blake: You leave my  **cousin**  alone!

Blake: He's got  **nothing**  to do with this!

Blake: He doesn't even have a  **blade!**

Blake: And  **how the SNORK does his talent tie into all of this?!**

"Clean Toilet" >  **"…how the SNORK does his talent tie into all of this…"**

Kai: Apollo's an illusionist, no?

Kai: He's gotta know how the Academy works structure-wise to get his SNORK done.

Kai: So he would be the only one to know that there is  **a secret room**  behind the stall Misako was supposedly killed in!

Blake: And  **how do you know about the secret room?**

"Dry Tank" >  **"…how do you know about the secret room?"**

Kai: A toilet bowl can't function with a dry tank!

Kai: And the tank has clearly been dry for more than a few days!

Kai: So that toilet obviously wasn't meant for actual usage!

Blake: But…

**BREAK!!!**

"Fine, so what if there is a secret room behind that stall?" Apollo interrupted impatiently. "Where does this lead us?"

Kai smirked. "It further narrows down our suspects. Zane wouldn't know about the room due to being a student, and Norman's blade is wrong. We don't know if you have a blade. You're on the list now…"

"Woah woah, slow down there buddy." Apollo readjusted his face mask. "There's no way I could have been the murderer. I don't have a blade."

"Then prove it."

"Oh?" Monokuma leaned forward in its throne. "Are things gonna get steamy in here? Is the older Terrell cousin gonna strip for all of us to see?"

Blake growled at the bear. "There will be no such nonsense while I'm around! Apollo!" He turned to the mildly amused illusionist. "Don't you dare do what it just said!"

"Chill, cousin," Apollo giggled. "They couldn't get this hat off even if they tried."

"You know, I think we've spent enough time beating about the bush."

Everyone turned to face Victoria, the former Ultimate Chemist twirling a strand of her neon green hair with a gloved finger. She pulled out her ElectroID, tapping on the screen a few times before showing it to everyone else. "Let's get to the kicker: Monokuma  _not_  telling us what the poison was."

"She was killed with poisonous chemicals," Jay pointed out. "How is that important?"

Victoria sighed. "There has to be a reason why Monokuma doesn't want to tell us what poison was used. It either doesn't know what poison was used, or the person who killed Misako has connections to the Mastermind and Monokuma."

"Ack!" Monokuma yelped in mock surprise. "How did you know the killer was working for me?"

"Because this piece of evidence said so!" 

 

Present: "Red Book"

 

Kai pulled out the book he had found in the empty tank from his satchel. "I found this in the toilet."

Everyone barring Zane and Victoria immediately voiced their disgust. Zane snickered at their reactions, prompting Kai to hesitate before continuing. "Hey, it's not what you guys think…"

"What the SNORK, Kai."

"Shut the SNORK up Jay. No one likes you."

"This book," Kai ignored Jay's complains, "is Misako's journal. The fact it was in the tank means that she knew it was empty, and whoever her killer was would be royally screwed over if she ever showed the contents of the book to us."

"So?"

Everyone turned to Skylor, the spy casting an annoyed glare at the swordsman. "So what if that's her journal? Did you really read the SNORKed thing?"

There was a brief pause from Kai before he replied. "I did."

"Then?"

"She was killed as she found out someone in our group is working with the Mastermind. And that someone…" He raised his hand, the options in his head spinning for a bit until they finally stopped, leaving him pointing straight at the traitor.

 

Select: "Skylor Chen, Ultimate Spy"

"Is you!"

Skylor stared at Kai in disbelief.

Then she started to giggle.

The giggles grew into chuckles.

Finally, she was on the floor, having burst out in laugther.

"Me? A traitor?" Skylor struggled to catch her breath. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"I'm not, and you know it." Kai gripped his stand tighter as he leaned forward. "So just admit it already."

Skylor got up, holding on to the stand for support. "Admit to what? I'm your best friend Kai!"

"Um, Kai? I'm not so sure about this accusation…" Norman cast the swordsman a concerned glance.

"Yeah!" Skylor huffed. "See? I bet you're the killer who's just trying to push the blame to someone else!"

"We already agreed that Kai's swords are too long to create those cuts." Zane tensed up as the Ultimate Spy growled in response. "If it was you, just admit it and we'll start the vote."

Skylor laughed again. "Oh, and the next thing you'll be accusing me of is stealing chlorine from the lab to poison Misako!"

Victoria chuckled. "Maybe, but we don't have a reason to accuse you anymore. Thank you for the confession, Miss Chen."

For the first time since they entered the courtroom, there was pin-drop silence as everyone wondered what Victoria meant. One by one, the realisation dawned on the other Ultimates, while Skylor slowly took a few steps back from her stand, her face as pale as a sheet of paper.

"Monokuma…" Lloyd's voice was barely above a whisper. "I think we're ready to start the vote."

The bear nodded, summoning the golden button and slamming its gavel down. "You all know the deal! In front of all of you is a panel for voting. Tap the icon of the person who you think is the killer, and that will seal your vote!”

Unlike last time, everyone was quick to put in their votes.

The slot machine appeared again, spinning rapidly before all three columns landed on a pixel icon of Skylor's head.

"Aw, no different votes from anyone? How boring…" Monokuma switched the button with the red one. "Oh well! I might have deviated from my code in the last trial, but I'm making SNORK sure I stick to the script from now on!" The bear raised its gavel one more time.

_"I have a special punishment just for Skylor Chen, our lovely Ultimate Spy! So let's give it everything we've got…"_

_**"IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"** _

* * *

 

COMMENCING EXECUTION: TO THE BETRAYER, A PRAYER

Skylor looked around nervously as she was chained to a chair, left in the middle of a completely dark room. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, bright lights lit up the room, revealing long wooden pews and multiple Monokuma units staring in her direction. At the front of the room was a large wooden cross, and a marble statue depicting a bearded Monokuma in robes.

It did not take long for Skylor to realise she was in a church, one dedicated to Monokuma, no less.

Another Monokuma popped up in front of the cross, dressed in a priest outfit. It raised its paws, prompting a few of the Monokumas behind her to lift the chair up in the air. Skylor tried to struggle against her restraints, but found herself completely paralysed.

The bears finally brought her to the cross, the priest Monokuma shaking its head as it pretended to examine Skylor. Turning back to the crowd, it started broadcasting an assorted bunch of static. The crowd seemed to understand its meaning, and all Monokuma in the pews bowed their heads and held their hands together in prayer.

The Monokuma units which carried Skylor to the cross untied her, before lifting her up high. Two more Monokuma units crawled up the sides of the cross, each brandishing nails and a hammer. Without another noise, they struck the nails right into Skylor's hands, the spy wanting to scream in pain but finding no voice or strength to do so.

Once her hands were successfully nailed to the cross, they slid down the cross to her feet, nailing them to the cross as well. With a robotic chuckle, they lept off the cross, leaving Skylor nailed to the cross, a look of fear frozen on her face. Somewhere in the room, a church bell started to sound.

Nothing happened until the twelfth chime.

The cross suddenly tilted backwards and spun around, leaving Skylor in a position resembling one on an operating table.

A blade fell from the roof, decapitating her in one shot.

A final amen for the fallen girl.

ULTIMATE SPY SKYLOR CHEN'S EXECUTION: EXECUTED

* * *

Kai was not surprised when the survivors called him down for a meeting, after the stunt he had pulled during the trial. They were still waiting for Griffin, who had left to change his bandages.

"Hey, Tox."

The chemist cast a curious glance at Jay. "Yeah?"

"What's it like being the last girl alive?"

"Shut the SNORK up."

There was a loud slam as Griffin stepped into the room and called out Kai's name. He turned to look at Griffin, noticing that the athlete's jacket was finally back where it belonged. "Yes?"

"You mind explaining what happened back there to everyone? Some people," he glanced at someone in the room, "didn't really understand why she was the killer, but just voted with the crowd."

"It's simple." Kai pulled out the red book from before. "The main point was that only Monokuma and the killer, in this case, Skylor, would have know what the poison was. If anyone brought up what kind of poison it was, without anyone else mentioning it, they were clearly the killer. But to make her slip, I needed the help of this."

"Hang on. If my memory is correct, Misako does not keep a journal…" Julien suddenly grabbed the book, flipping through the pages with a look of shock on his face. "What the—"

All the pages of the book were completely blank.

Kai smiled cheekily at the doctor. "Oh, that? I made that journal SNORK up. Misako hid it there, yes, but there wasn't a point to it. Paranoia on Skylor's end. Victoria helped Zane and I identify what the poison was, then we came up with a plan to trick the killer into revealing who they were."

"Heh." Blake got up from his seat, walking over and giving Kai a firm pat on the back. "You know, kid, if you weren't the Ultimate Swordsman, you could really be a detective or debater of some sort. You really remind me of an old friend I used to know."

Kai opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it as he just smiled.

* * *

_“This game must be rigged or some SNORK! Oh, wait, I rigged it. LOL. Oh well, gotta give those idiots some downtime before I unleash the next motive. I wonder if they can bear it? Would it be too hot for them to handle? **Sixteen**  more students, and much more killi— Oh baby! A triple!”_

_** 16 ULTIMATES REMAIN ** _


	20. Arc 2: Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i actually like writing manipulative chen, it's a good stress reliever
> 
> end notes is full/real names aka vry important

She never wanted to do it.

Skylor Chen forced her eyes closed as the Monokuma units started hammering the nails into her feet, trying her best to ignore the fact she would soon be beheaded in front of all of her former friends.

"I did it for them," she thought. "I would have been their saviour."

The cross shifted and creaked under her weight as it was spun around, until it finally stopped to prepare her for the beheading.

"I deserve a chance at redemption, don't I?"

Skylor opened her eyes, staring at the blade barely concealed in the ceiling.

"Maybe this is my redemption."

It started to fall.

"I wish it was my redemption."

* * *

The tape ended with a close-up of the dreaded bear's face, leaving the spy staring at the screen in disgust and fear. "So, did ya like the vid?" Monokuma asked, watching the Ultimate Spy start to tremble.

Skylor tore her gaze away from the screen, making sure to maintain eye contact with Monokuma as she gave her reply. "No," she clenched her fists, "I don't SNORKing like that stupid video! What kind of SNORKed threat is that? 'Work for me or else'? Seriously, it's like a little kid wrote your code in Scratch and called it a day! Or else WHAT?"

Monokuma chuckled. "Oh, you don't know? Maybe this new clip will refresh your memory..." The bear leaped down from its podium, strutting over to the tape player and replacing the tape with a new one.

* * *

_"Our dearest Skylor..."_

_A man in long maroon robes with gold and purple accents slowly approached the exhausted spy, who weakly lifted her head off the table's surface. "Yes, Clouse?"_

_"It's time for your next briefing." He pulled out a folder, flipping through it for a few moments before he stopped. "Here we go. Our client is one who goes by the name of Mastermind, who is in charge of a group known as the Ultimate Despair."_

_"Ultimate Despair?" Skylor scoffed. "What kind of weird talents are the scouts scouting? Is that Giles finally letting that weird 'Neuro' persona messing with his job?"_

_The man laughed. "Maybe. He did scout that Ultimate [Joke Has Been Lost In Snorklation, But Assume A Talent That Doesn't Make Sense] , didn't he? Anyways, your mission is to kidnap the following list of people."_

_"Kidnapping? That's easier than killing a baby. Lay it down on me, Clousey."_

_Clouse frowned. "Don't call me that. The newest batch of students: Kai Smith, Cole Brookstone, Lloyd Garmadon, Jay Walker, and Zane Julien. That's the first part, and you may have noticed that you aren't included. This is part of the agreement, in which in exchange for you services, you will not be affected by the client's actions." Skylor gave a nod. "Next up: Norman 'Neuro' Giles, and Camellia 'Chamile' Fox. The current Talent Scout, and the Scout-in-Training."_

_"Hold up." Skylor got up from her chair, walking over to Clouse with a curious expression on her face. "What does the client want with these people?"_

_Clouse closed the folder with an annoyed sigh. "Has your father taught you nothing? We don't ask questions. We WORK."_

_Skylor nodded. "True. But you brought up Norman GILES. And another rule Father has taught me was that we NEVER mess with any Giles."_

_"The client has assured us that the Mafia will be taken care of, by the time you start your mission. There's no need to worry," Clouse retorted, despite looking uncertain of the fact himself. He snuck a quick peek at the page again. "Then we have Griffin Turner, Blake 'Shade' Terrell—"_

_"Okay, I'm drawing the line THERE!" Skylor took a step back. "I REFUSE to try and kidnap Blake Terrell."_

_"Not try. Successfully kidnap."_

_The soon-to-be Ultimate spy shook her head rapidly. "I'm not crazy! Any untrained person would know better than to SNORK with the Giles, and I'm already making an exception for them! NO ONE would try to SNORK with a Terrell, especially not Blake! I mean, have you ever seen what happens to people who mess with his cousin?"_

_"Skylor, you can rant about Blake later on. I need to finish this list." Clouse ignored the spy's further complaints. "Apollo 'Invizable' Terrell, also known as 'Paleman'. Victoria 'Toxkita' Faust, Bolobo Floros, Jacob Pevsner, Ash Coy, Karlof Volkov, Grayson 'Gravis' Jordan, Lou Brookstone, Cobalt Julien, Misako Garmadon, and Wu Garmadon. Got it?"_

_Skylor made a show of counting the total number of targets. "About eighteen Ultimates, one heir to the Mafia with a loving father who is also the Godfather, and a crazy puppeteer. Great."_

_"We have other requests from the client, but those requests can be settled by the less skilled members," Clouse sighed before continuing, "and as I said, Blake will be manageable. He's just a puppeteer, what could go wrong?"_

_"Look, I've tried EVERYTHING to dig out any dirt on the Terrell Cousins, and you know what?" Skylor threw her hands up in frustration. "Nothing! No crimes, no parking tickets, not even a catcall! It's like they're the perfect role models everyone wants to be!"_

_"Clousey-Clouse, where are you?" An older man burst into the room, sending the door crashing to the floor. "Oops! Clouse, fix that later."_

_"Hello to you as well, Master Chen." Clouse turned away from Skylor to address the newcomer. "I was just briefing Skylor on her new mission. She has expressed concern about certain targets, specifically the Terrell Cousins and Norman Giles."_

_Chen nodded in understanding. "Clouse, leave now. I need to have a word with my daughter alone." Clouse obeyed without further protest, leaving the room in an unnatural flash of light. "Skylor..."_

_"I refuse to go after Blake! Something's horribly off about the cousins, and I don't care if the client wipes out the entire Mafia before I go to get Giles. There are just some lines I have to draw in the sand for my safety!"_

_"Your safety? Oh, my dearest Skylor..." Chen wrapped an arm around her neck, pulling her closer. "When will you learn that whatever you do is not for yourself, but for the sake of us?" He waved his other hand in the air, the metallic serpentine staff's crystal glittering under the lights. "This glorious life we live! Our servants! Clouse waiting for you at your beck and call! The glory of the mythical Anacondrai!" Chen's voice suddenly dropped an octave. "And if you want to go against our ways, you better remember this. You are expendable. Replaceable. I make an exception just. For. You. My own flesh and blood. My beloved daughter. Nineteen years of taking care of you, and you try to go against my wishes. If you do not obey, you are not worthy of my time."_

_A look of discomfort crossed Skylor's face. "F-Father, I..."_

_"You're either with us, or against us." Chen released her, before shoving her away from him roughly. She landed on the floor with a loud thud, the spy completely silent. "So pick your side, my dearest Skylor."_

_"I..." Skylor got on her knees, kneeling before her father with her gaze to the floor. She swallowed hard. "I am with you, and you only, my beloved Father."_

_A smirk appeared on Chen's face. "Lovely. Now," his voice went back to normal, "would you be a dear and make your old Father a cup of honey lemon tea? My throat is awfully parched!"_

* * *

The tape ended with a zoom on Chen's grin, sending a chill down Skylor's spine. "Well, looks like our dearest spy has some family issues!" Monokuma cackled as Skylor fell out of her chair in shock. "Oh dear, what would the others think if they ever found out about this?"

 

"Y-you wouldn't DARE!"

"Oh, I would!" Monokuma pulled out a knife and held it out to Skylor. "So if you want me to keep mum, kill a mother."

Skylor hesitated, before grabbing the blade's handle. "Misako, right?"

The bear nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! She's such a nuisance..."

"Then your wish is my command, Master Monokuma."

* * *

"Hey, are you alright?"

 

Kai looked up from his katana, staring at a point behind Norman to avoid looking him in the eyes. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You know if we're having this conversation, you're definitely not alright." Norman pulled a chair over, seating next to the swordsman. "You lost two of your best friends. First Cole, and now Skylor. How do you feel?"

Kai sighed, sheathing the blade and placing the cleaning rag on the floor. "Cole... I understood why he did that. He was always the kind of guy to go rushing headfirst into a fight in order to protect the weak, you know? Zane had told him to actually consider the consequences of his actions, but he never did. So I guess that ended up being his downfall." He managed to force out a choked laugh, the tears already starting to build up. "And Skylor... oh Sky. Why did she do that?" Kai tried to wipe away the tears, smearing them all over his cheeks. "We were here for her. Cole, Zane, and even Nya! Yet the only one she had eyes for was her father. Tell me, Norman," he looked up, "are family ties really that strong?"

Norman frowned, looking away for a bit. "Family? You know, you and I have two very different ideas regarding that word. You may think of parents and their children, while I... I think of the Mafia."

"THE MAFIA?!" Kai exclaimed in a mix of horror and shock as the scout immediately tried to shush him.

"Be quiet! The only person who knows this besides you is Turn... Griffin, and the last thing I need is everyone finding out about it. So, here we go I guess..." Norman looked around one last time to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation.

"Yes, I'm technically part of the Mafia. At first, my name was Nicholas Williams..." He shook his head as Kai snickered in amusement. "Stop that, this is a serious story. My biological family always gambled me in games of poker as their bet. The problem was that my parents were con artists, and they always cheated in their games to win." Norman looked down at his hands. "One day, they decided to pull off the trick on the local Mafia's leader. Unfortunately for them, the Godfather was not pleased with being cheated. He called them out on their bluff, and claimed me as his prize. From then on, I was Norman Giles, son of the Godfather."

"The first few years were tough. As a child, I was awfully prone to illnesses, due to the living conditions I had grown up in. I'm better now, but back then..." Norman faked a laugh. "I would easily catch a cold from just someone's sneeze. Once I grew old enough for school, the Godfather, Samuel, sent me to school, and started training me to be his successor..." He paused. "Or was it consigliere? I can't quite remember. Anyway, I wasn't really popular with the other children for obvious reasons. In order to avoid the bullies, I read their body language and the tones of their voices to avoid conflict."

Norman took a deep breath. "Then one day, I was cornered by some gangsters. I got the SNORK beat out of me, and I nearly died, had it not been for Griffin." He stole a glance at the athlete from across the room. "He saved my life. And I saved his grades in exchange."

"Sounds pretty gay."

"He kinda is," Norman jokingly replied. "I'm kidding, he's pan. Back to the story. Things happened, a new heir was found, and the Academy chose me as the Ultimate Psychologist. Then I met Lou, even more things happened, we dated for a bit and uh... well, that's the story of how Neuro came about." The scout sighed as he looked back at Kai. "Long story, but now you know that I kind of have a grudge against Brookstone. Do whatever you want with that information."

The Ultimate Swordsman fell silent, trying his best to process the new information. "So that's why you had a knife?"

A nod. "Yes. For self-protection."

"You didn't answer my question, though."

"I'm aware of that. The story was a reward for being there for me after Camellia's death." Norman sat up straight. "Family. It's supposed to be made of love. But sometimes, love can be blind."

Kai stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Jacob is love?"

"What? No!" Norman shared his disgusted look. "I meant that sometimes, we're just unaware of our 'loved' ones' true intentions. Brookstone was using me like a toy, yet I was loyal to him until the end." He let out a deep sigh. "And I was completely ignorant of the ones who truly loved and cared me. Camellia, Griffin, SNORK, even Samuel..."

"Now that sounded awfully gay."

"Could you please respond with something other than that?"

Kai chuckled. "Nah, it's funny seeing your reaction to it."

The scout rolled his eyes. "It's good to see you're doing much better than during the trial. You were acting like a completely different person back then, going after Apollo, then Blake. Although..." A hint of concern seeped into Norman's voice. "You should be careful about messing with the Terrell Cousins."

"Why?"

"I can't seem to put my finger on it, but Blake's talent feels... wrong, somehow. I didn't scout him, so I don't know about what his documents say regarding his puppeteering career. Additionally, Apollo's habit of spouting strange nonsense is starting to get unnerving."

There was a pause as Kai thought of an appropriate reply. "I don't know Blake as well as you do, but I have to agree the whole 'word count' thing Apollo was talking about is... weird."

"Good that we're on the same page about that SNORK." Norman pulled out a bottle of whiskey, along with two shot glasses. He filled up both glasses, passing one to Kai. "Here you go."

"Uh, I'm..."

"I know for a SNORKed fact you're legal. I scouted you." Norman downed his glass and quickly refilled it. "We both had really tough times recently. Being stuck here, losing our best friends, and then being betrayed. So let's drown our sorrows for the night. No bears, no love, no back-stabbing friends."

"Just alcohol?"

"Just alcohol."

**_ End Arc 2: Amber-coloured History _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Kai Smith (Ultimate Swordsman)  
> -Cole Brookstone (Ultimate Weightlifter)  
> -Jay Walker (Ultimate Inventor)  
> -Zane Julien (Ultimate Marksman)  
> -Lloyd Garmadon (Ultimate Luckster)  
> -Skylor Chen (Ultimate Spy)  
> -Misako Garmadon (former Ultimate Historian)  
> -Lou Brookstone (former Ultimate Dancer)  
> -Cobalt Julien (former Ultimate Roboticist/Robotics Engineer)  
> -Camellia "Chamile" Fox (former Ultimate Actor/Actress)  
> -Norman "Neuro" Giles (former Ultimate Psychologist, also formerly known as Nicholas Williams)  
> -Victoria "Toxkita" Faust (former Ultimate Psychologist)  
> -Grayson "Gravis" Jordan (former Ultimate Astrophysist)  
> -Blake "Shade" Terrell (former Ultimate Shadow Puppeteer)  
> -Apollo "Paleman/Invizable" Terrell (former Ultimate Illusionist)  
> -Ash Coy (former Ultimate Volcanologist)  
> -Bolobo Floros (former Ultimate Botanist)  
> -Griffin Turner (former Ultimate Track Athlete)  
> -Jacob Pevsner (former Ultimate Musician)  
> -Karlof Volkov (former Ultimate Aerospace Engineer)


	21. Arc 3: Out of The Frying Pan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hot hot

Tensions remained high as most of the Ultimates tried their best to maintain the false sense of peace in the Academy. Out of the few who decided to mope around, Lloyd was the most negative of the bunch, ignoring any attempts to communicate with him and constantly disrupting the others’ activities.

"Lloyd, you really should try talking with the others." Jay was the first to try and snap him out of his depression, although he was quickly met with resistance. The luckster merely turned away from the inventor, his grip on his fork tightening. "Lloyd, are you even listening to me? I'm trying to do this for your own good!"

"Oh, REALLY?" Lloyd growled, shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth and chewing angrily before swallowing. "I thought you were the Ultimate Inventor, not the Ultimate Psychologist! Oh, that's right. The REAL Ultimate Psychologist is too busy being lovey-dovey with his boyfriend to actually care about the SNORKed students!"

"I am NOT being lovey-dovey with my boyfriend!" Norman shouted from across the room, carrying a sleeping Griffin bridal-style. "I don't even have a boyfriend!"

Lloyd rolled his eyes, slamming his head back onto the table. "Nothing matters anymore. My mom's dead, my uncle's dead, and who knows where my dad is?"

Kai hesitated when he heard the question. Sure, Lloyd would probably be desperate for some form of family affection, but exposing Garmadon was a risk Kai was not ready to take.

Not long after they finished their breakfast, Monokuma called all of the remaining Ultimates into the AV room, claiming an extremely important video in need of their attention.

"So, what did you gather us here for?" Jacob asked. "I mean,  _some of us_  can't even see things."

The bear waltzed over to a button, pressing it with a swipe of its paw. With a brief burst of static, a video began to play on the screen at the front of the AV room.

* * *

  _The bearded man flinched. Thick ropes kept him bound to a wooden chair, digging into his flesh. As his struggling intensified, two pairs of eyes watched his every movement from afar._

_"Please! You don't have to go through with this, there's still time to turn back…" A smile from one of the captors, but neither moved._

_The taller one decided to speak up. "We're just waiting. I hope you're insured, brother."_

_"Demetri!"_

_"Yes, Wu?"_

_"We're brothers, not enemies. Please, put me down!" Wu shouted at the top of his lungs, unsure of how far away his captors were._

_“Gladly." The other person finally moved, replying with a heavily distorted sing-song tone. They leaped over to a lever with cat-like grace, resting their hands on it. "Sweet dreams, our once beloved Headmaster."_

_Wu snapped his head upwards. "W-Wait, you're…"_

* * *

COMMENCING EXECUTION: BOILING POINT

The rope holding the chair suddenly snapped. Wu screamed, his volume only increasing as he accelerated downwards, completely at the mercy of gravity.

Instead of hard ground, he found himself being submerged up to his neck in liquid. A quick taste told him that this was water, but why did his captors not drown him?

It was only when a sudden increase in the surrounding temperature did the reason strike him like a bolt of lightning: they were going to turn his love of tea against him. The water surrounding him started to boil, prompting him to scream in pain as he was slowly cooked alive. He felt his skin peeling off, as he gradually lost the energy to keep himself awake.

When the water was drained, a ‘delicacy' awaited his captors. His corpse was barely recognisable, completely red and bleeding in other parts. Only his face remained, beard drenched with blood and water.

HEADMASTER WU GARMADON'S EXECUTION: EXECUTED

* * *

_The shorter captor broke into laughter. "Hahaha! Did you see the look on his face? 'Brother, no!' What a wimp!"  
_

_Garmadon gave what used to be his brother a final glance, before turning back to his companion: the Mastermind of the upcoming School Life of Mutal Killing. He gave a single bow, before walking away, not daring to look back._

_"And now, for the next part…” A grin spread across the Mastermind’s face. “Dearest Garmadon, go wake up our students. It’s time for the main event!"_

* * *

"Anyone want to tell me what just happened? I heard lots of screaming, Wu, and Garmadon."

No one answered Jacob's question as the video closed in on the Mastermind's grin, showcasing their sharpen fangs. Monokuma watched the Ultimates with a bored expression, the lack of shock on their faces prompting it to growl loudly. "Are you SNORKers as blind as that idiot over there? Come on! Say something! Scream!" Its red eye blinked rapidly. "Nothing? Not even from Mister Screaming Walker? What the SNORK?!"

"JUST SHUT UP!" Lloyd rushed forward, grabbing the bear by its neck. "Can't you be sensitive for just one moment?!" He started to shake the bear. The bear stopped moving, its red eye starting to flash multiple colours. "You useless hunk of—"

"LLOYD, NO!"

The bear suddenly blew up, sending a large splatter of blood onto everyone else in the room. Lloyd's headless corpse slowly sunk to the ground, landing on the carpeted floor with a thud. His once green sweater was now stained red, a few strands of his blonde hair stuck near the collar.

Jay was the first to react, stumbling behind a desk and quickly falling to his knees as he threw up the breakfast they just had. Other similar reactions soon followed, the stench of vomit hanging heavily in the air.

A new Monokuma unit popped out from behind the screen, landing right in front of the blood puddle that was forming in front of Lloyd's corpse. "Oopsie! Looks like I made a mess!"

"You…" Bolobo shakily rose to his feet. "You MONSTER! That was an innocent human life you just took! How could you?!"

"Well," Monokuma clapped its paws together, changing the display shown on the screen to a list of rules. "I was only following the rules! And Rule Number Five says: Violence against the Headmaster, Monokuma, is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras. So I HAD to punish that little brat!"

"He was just a kid!" Gravis added.

"You saying I'm supposed to care?" Monokuma shook its head. "Oh please! The last two murderers were 'kids' too! Cole Brookstone…"

Lou glared at the bear.

"And Skylor Chen! Is that not a big enough reason to hate kids?"

Kai desperately fought the urge to slice the Monokuma unit into shreds. "Well, you FORCED Sky to kill Misako! And Cole didn't do it on purpose!"

The unit laughed. "Oh, so that's the excuse you're gonna use for those two. Amazing! Anyway, I brought you SNORKers here to announce the new motive."

"New motive? But we haven't even established how long it's been since the trial!" Apollo glared at the ceiling. "Hey, Author! Stop trying to gloss over the fact that someone was just executed for no actual reason!"

Blake quickly restrained his cousin before he could continue to spout nonsense.

Norman pulled out his ElectroID, ignoring the ranting illusionist as he checked the day. "It's a Friday, and we had the trial on a Tuesday, so…"

"About two days, yup!" Monokuma seemed excited about the new motive. "The reason why I didn't wait this time is because the new motive takes time for it gets into full swing!"

"Then stop beating about the bush and get to it!" Bolobo yelled. "This place is starting to get disgusting and warm!"

Monokuma chuckled. "That's the motive!"

"Making us throw up?" Griffin asked, earning an annoyed glare from the bear.

"No, the other one!" The display changed to an image of a thermometer. The reading was currently at 27°C, although the level of the liquid was slowly starting to rise.

"Our motive this round is one of the hottest around! For every day that passes without a murder, the temperature will go up by one degree! And this is all in Celsius, so those Fahrenheit users can go do the math themselves!"

"Oh, now you're discriminating over us Fahrenheit users?" Apollo finally broke free from his cousin's grasp. "Don't have the equation in your code too?"

Monokuma dismissed his question with a wave of its paw. "I'm sure you'll be able to find a calculator somewhere! Oh, and before I forget: All air conditioners and fans have been broken by yours truly! I'll fix them up as soon as a body, or bodies, is discovered! Now out with you SNORKs, I need to clean this mess up!"

* * *

Everyone was quick to gather in the cafeteria once Monokuma had chased them out of the AV room. "Great, now we're down another person," Jay muttered, having recovered from purging his stomach's contents.

"We're out of the frying pan, and in the fire," Zane muttered in agreement.

Julien readjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "I think we should focus on what we can learn from that video. It could help with finding out who the Mastermind is."

"And what if we do find out who it is?" Gravis asked. "People don't just magically come back to life once we catch the one who made them die."

There was a heavy silence as his words sank in. "True," Norman finally spoke, "but wouldn't it help to prevent further murders?"

"If we stop the problem at the source, we can help solve the issue." Julien gestured to Norman, who pulled out a notepad. "Neuro, where your notes on the video?"

"Hang on," the scout frantically flipped through his notes, "and, uh, Norman's fine, Doctor. First of all, the Mastermind refered to Wu as 'our' Headmaster."

"So?" Gravis looked at him with a bored expression. "'Our' means lots of things."

Norman sighed. "What I'm trying to say, is that the Mastermind has to be one of us. There's no other reason why they'd know all of our weaknesses, real names, and even our, ahem,  _connections with the underground_."

Karlof grunted. "How we find Mastermind? Ask?"

"No, we beat the SNORKs out of them!" Victoria got up from her chair, knocking it over.

The engineer stared at the chemist. "Karlof ask how find, not how punish."

"Ugh, this is pointless!" Kai exclaimed. "Mastermind or no Mastermind, we still need to find a way to stop the murders!"

"There won't be anyone around to kill if you kill everyone," Blake muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Honestly? We should just give up."

Everyone turned to Apollo, the illusionist having taken off his hat. His curly black hair covered most of his face, which he combed away with a gloved hand. "If you want the honest truth: no, nailing the Mastermind isn't going to stop any murders. There really isn't a point in doing anything anymore."

Blake cast his cousin a sideways glance. "And how would you know?"

"My video, the first motive's one, wasn't focused on my family, or even a loved one." Apollo ran his fingers along the edge of his hat. "It was focused on the outside."

Jay immediately perked up. "The outside? You mean what's outside these walls? Fresh air and sunshine and freedom?"

Apollo hesitated to answer. "Well… that's what you think. What finally hammered in the point for me was a detail in the video." He lowered his gaze. "Monokuma messed up and forgot one small detail in the video. Or maybe it 'messed up' on purpose, I don't know. There's a digital calender that my mom always hangs in the living room. In the 'before' segment, the date was the orientation ceremony's, however in the 'after' segment..." His voice trailed off.

"Cut to the chase already!" Lou yelled, slamming his hands on the table.

"We've…"

Apollo allowed his hat to slip from his grasp as he tried to choke out the words of truth.

"We've been trapped here for three years, and we don't seem to remember anything."

* * *

 

**_ Proceed with Arc 3? _ **

~~Yes~~   
~~No~~   
**_> Save Progress_ **

_ Progress saved. Proceeding with Arc 3… _


	22. Arc 3: Starting A Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> beep beep i'm on the verge of sleep

"You're saying we've been here for three whole years?!"

No one believed the words of the former Ultimate Illusionist at first. There were hushed whispers and silent glances, yet none dared to ask the man to explain himself any further.

It was only later that evening did they finally overcome their denial.

"I still don't get it," Blake had muttered, poking at his rice with his spoon. "Three years of nothing?"

Norman stared at his empty plate as he tried to simplify his thoughts. "If that is true, then how were our memories removed? The human mind is much more complex than a computer program."

"Yeah. One needs to eat, the other needs to be plugged into an electrical socket."

"This isn't the time to be joking, Jay." Norman handed his plate to Zane and leaned back in his chair. "With a computer program, you can easily modify the code to suit your needs. A human doesn't have a built-in code to modify. If the Mastermind has the technology to alter human memories to their liking, we're going up against someone on a completely different level than a kidnapper."

There was a bout of dry laughter from Gravis. "Oh, really? I bet we didn't know that the Mastermind was worse than a kidnapper. I mean," he looked around, "we all know that kidnappers do things worse than forcing their hostages to murder each other. Like make their hostages murder kids."

"That already happened," Lou retorted. "We voted to kill two teenagers. Are they not children?"

"You're presenting a biased point of view, Lou."

"Why don't you busy yourself and kiss my SNORK." Lou spat at Norman, the scout scowling in response. "Oh, that's right. You were just begging for me onc—"

_**"ENOUGH!"** _

Zane slammed the grip of his gun against the table, silencing everyone and drawing their attention to him. "Arguing isn't going to solve anything! We need to work together if we're ever going to get out of this."

"That's if there's even a way out," Griffin snarked. "Did your magical sharpshooter eyes miss the giant lock keeping us in? Or the screws and metal plates blocking us from the outside world?"

Victoria frowned at the athlete's reply. "Griffin, there's no need to say such things. We need to stay positive!"

"Maybe despair really is our final destination," Blake muttered.

Kai watched as everyone slowly started agreeing with the puppeteer, the pained expressions on their faces threatening to drag him down with them.

_"No," he thought, remembering Nya's innocent smile. "I'm not going to lose to this cowardly 'Mastermind'! Nya, I'm not gonna give up. I'm gonna find you, and I'm gonna protect you 'till my last breath!"_

"So what if despair seems to be our 'final destination'?" Kai made sure everyone's eyes was on him before he continued. "The past doesn't define our future. What we do now, with what little we have, is what truly counts! We'll make our own future, with our own power!" He broke into a smile. "Now who's with me?"

The silence following his question caused his smile to fade. Uncertainty was prominent on his fellow Ultimates' faces, with a few looks of disdain and annoyance.

Getting the hint that his positivity was not welcome, Kai got up from the table and left in silence.

_"I'm sorry, Nya. I'll try harder next time."_

* * *

"Haha! Oh, what did you think you were, some Ultimate Hope or some crap?" Monokuma greeted, the swordsman frowning in response as he took off his shoulder guards. "Oh come on, that's funny!"

"Funny?!" The swordsman unbuckled his sword harnesses, tossing them onto his nightstand. Kai finally turned to the bear, staring it in the eyes. "You think driving everyone off the deep end is entertaining?"

Monokuma faked a look of surprise. "Oh, did I forget to mention one of the reasons I'm making you all play my delightful little game?"

Kai fought off the urge to stab the robot, the image of Lloyd's corpse burnt into his mind. "Which reason? You mean aside from using this 'game' to entertain your [Joke Has Been Lost In Snorklation]"

"Nah," the bear dismissed his sarcasm with a wave of its paw, "I want to plunge all of Ninjago's pathetic excuse for 'hope' into lovely despair!"

Kai stared at the bear, his hate for its permanent smile slowly boiling up inside of him. "You're disgusting," he eventually spat out, unable to say more without giving in to his rage and ripping the bear apart.

"We'll see who the disgusting one is once my motive starts working its magic." Monokuma turned away from Kai, striding out the door while swaying its hips with each step.

Once the bear was gone, Kai slammed the door shut, storming back to his bed and screaming loudly into his pillow.

* * *

The first three days were, for most of the Ultimates, normal. The select few who struggled to stay cool were those who refused to remove the problematic pieces of clothing, choosing to hide in their rooms at the beginning.

On the fourth day, the temperature hit 34°C.

Kai, having been raised in a small country near the equator, was not bothered by the heat. A large majority of the other Ultimates, however, were starting to suffer.

"You're seriously not bothered by how hot it is?!" Jay poured the small pail of water over his own head, drenching his goggles and neatly combed hair. "I swear we can leave an egg out and it'd burn in seconds..."

Karlof opened his mouth to correct Jay, only to be interrupted by a groan from Ash. Victoria gave him a reassuring pat on the back, before turning to the rest of the Ultimates to translate. "Ash thinks it's worse than a volcano, and that's saying something."

"Okay, I have a suggestion to stop this SNORK."

"Yeah?" Kai was curious as to what Blake was about to suggest, the puppeteer having stood up onto the dining table.

"It's a method based on fate. We draw straws, and whoever gets the longest straw kills the one with the shortest straw, then we just vote for the killer."

Jacob snorted. "Yeah... and how can we be sure that Monokuma would accept that as an actual killing? The bear said he wants the killer to try and hide the evidence, not make it a public execution."

"Does the bear consider suicide as an actual death?" Lou asked. "It's the act of killing oneself, so the murderer would just be the victim."

Julien glared at Lou. "If we answer that question and I find you dead in your room tonight..."

"No promises."

"Guys, can we be a bit more positive?" Kai tried to speak above the commotion, ignoring the fact that no one seemed to be listening. "Come on! What if the previous vicitms see us now? How do you guys think they'd feel?" He made sure to look Lou straight in the eyes. "Cole wouldn't want his dad to end his own life. He died to try and save you, so don't make his sacrifice a useless one. And you!" He pointed at Norman. "Chamile was nothing but loyal to you until the first motive!"

"Loyal?" The scout rolled his eyes. "She was my apprentice, of course she'd seem loyal in your eyes."

"But you were so proud of her! You brought her along to scout us!"

Zane hummed in agreement. "She was nothing but concerned when Echo nearly shot you back at the shooting range."

"Chamile make Neuro back to Norman," Karlof added.

As Norman struggled to come up with a valid rebuttal, Kai got up on his chair, facing all of the Ultimates remaining. "The first two victims of this horrific event died in misguided attempts to save the ones they cared about. Skylor was, uh, trying her best?"

"Trying her best to what."

When Kai hesitated and had trouble answering, Blake got up from his seat and started to walk out of the cafeteria. Julien ran up and grabbed him by the arm, forcing the puppeteer to stop in his tracks. "Terrell, you did not give Kai a chance to answer your question."

"So? We all know that Skylor killed for the Mastermind. It doesn't matter what she was 'trying her best' to do."

"She didn't kill for the Mastermind!"

"Really, kid?" Gravis looked at Kai in disgust. "Then tell us who she was killing Misako for."

"She... she killed for..." Kai's voice eventually drifted off, the swordsman finally coming to terms with Skylor's murder. He paused briefly, before lowering his head in defeat. "...I can't answer that."

Blake aggressively shook Julien off him, storming out of the cafeteria with Apollo close behind. Gravis soon followed, along with Karlof and Bolobo. Victoria and Ash shared a look of disappointment as they left as well, the two practically dragging Jacob behind them.

"So, hot shot," Jay smirked at the embarrassed swordsman. "You wanna try that whole motivational speech thing again? I mean, third time's the charm, right?"

"Look, I knew Skylor since we were kids!" Kai slammed his fists on the table, his eyes fixed on the floor. "She'd never abandon her friends! She'd never kill without reason! Skylor is person of reason, the big sister I've never had..." He ignored the tears threatening to spill, refusing to let his best friend's reputation be tarnished. "She once told me she wanted to help. She was tired of being a pawn in her father's game of chess. She... she wanted to take Chen down once she left the Academy."

"Kai, that's enough." Norman stood up, making sure to maintain eye contact with the Ultimate Swordsman. "Most of us have lost our patience due to the unbearable heat. This is not the time to argue about the past."

"Don't stop me. I'm sick and tired of all of you treating her like she's committed a sin!" Kai's hand instinctively shot towards the Sword of Fire, the cold steel in his palm tempting him to draw the blade and make his point. "I don't want my best friends going down in the history books as cold-blooded killers! If you all could sympathise with Cole, why can't you guys just accept Skylor?!"

"Why don't we ask Cole himself?"

Lou was smiling blankly at the empty chair next to him, holding a cup of tea. "Uh, Mr. Brookstone?" Jay seemed confused by the dancer's suggestion to ask the deceased weightlifter. "Cole's gone. He was crushed to death, remember?"

"Nonsense." Lou shook his head gently. "Oh Cole, simply ignore their ridiculous accusations. Here," he held the cup out towards the direction he was staring in, "would you like a sip of this tea? It's freshly made with the best ingredients found in the kitchen. After all, my dearest son deserves only the best."

"Brookstone."

"Oh, do tell me about the competition you had recently. Did you 'wipe the floor' with your competitors?"

"Brookstone?"

"I'm... so proud of you Cole..." Lou's grip on the cup weakened, causing it to slip out of his grasp and shatter into pieces on the floor. The tea spilled onto his shoes, prompting the dancer to gasp in alarm. "Oh, you seem to have dropped your cup, Cole..."

"Brookstone, we are leaving." Julien grabbed Lou's arm, pulling him away from the broken cup on the floor. With a small bow to the other Ultimates, he dragged the former Ultimate Dancer out of the cafeteria.

"So..." Griffin looked at his fellow Ultimates. "Who wants to place bets on when Lou will start singing to his dead son?"

* * *

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Gravis looked around the lab, the familiar air purifier a welcoming sight amongst the chaotic mess that was the Physics Laboratory. "Well, I guess there's no harm in looking around to familiarise myself with the new layout of the lab while I wait."

The former Ultimate Astrophysicist walked over to one of the display cases, showcasing a basic parallel circuit featuring colourful wires to showcase the flow of electrons. He frowned as he opened the case, moving the wires into the correct position. "Geez, whoever made this can't seem to read..."

The door to the lab slid open, drawing Gravis' attention as Karlof stepped into the lab. "Gravis wrote letter to Karlof?"

"What? No!" Karlof tilted his head in confusion when Gravis replied to his question with denial. "I mean, I didn't write the letter. I thought you did, Karlof."

"Karlof handwriting not that bad."

"Neither is mine."

The two men stared at each other, Gravis' gaze being drawn to Karlof's wrench. "So, why do you carry that around?" Karlof only shrugged, furthering Gravis' suspicions. "Is it for self-defence...?"

"Karlof can fight. No need weapons." Karlof frowned when he saw the astrophysicist take a step back. "Gravis think Karlof here to kill?" A nervous laugh was the only reply he got. "Gravis no trust Karlof?"

"I mean, this heat's pretty unbearable." Gravis took a step back, one hand hidden behind his back as he tried to grab something he could use as a weapon. His fingers brushed over a vernier caliper, trying his best to hide the nervous look on his face by tilting his hat downwards as his grip tightened around the handle. "And you can't trust anyone here. Maybe a long time ago, we could have trusted each other. Sadly, that statement isn't true anymore. Sorry, buddy."

He lunged towards Karlof, outer jaws of the vernier caliper aimed towards the engineer's eyes. Karlof raised his wrench, reflecting the tool with his own. He swung the wrench in an arc, striking Gravis on the head. The astrophysicist fell to the ground, landing as a crumpled heap. Panicking, Karlof dropped the wrench, kneeling beside the other man to try and reawaken him. "Gravis? GRAVIS?"

Something in the lab fell over, causing the engineer to tense up. "Who there?" The person ignored Karlof's question, slipping between the various machinery strewn across the lab. As soon as Karlof got back to his feet, he chased after the silhouette, his wrench abandoned next to Gravis.

Karlof followed the person up to the second floor of the lab, his fists raised as they stopped and turned towards him. Their face was covered by a gas mask, entire body cloaked in a mysterious fabric. "Well, well, well," they chuckled, voice muffed. "Look who made the first move."

"Killer," Karlof spat, taking a step closer to them. "Killer make Karlof kill friend."

"Oh, I never asked you to kill him." They gestured towards the corpse on the lower floor, still laying next to Karlof's wrench. "I just asked you two to come here. You killing Gravis was just a bonus for me."

"Karlof make killer pay!" The engineer charged forwards, arms outstretched. The writer merely sidestepped, sending Karlof flying over the railings and crashing to the ground.

With a groan, Karlof tried to get to his feet. Out of the blue, a foul-smelling liquid rained down from above, drenching him and Gravis' corpse. "Oh, and before I forget..."

The writer chuckled as he took out a lighter.

"Do me a favour, and burn loudly."


	23. Arc 3: Flames of Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *dabs*

The smell of something burning caught Kai’s attention as he wandered through the hallways.  _“Who messed up their cooking this time?_ ” he thought to himself.

“Strange, we’re not near the kitchen.” Victoria looked around, her nose in the air as she tried to determine where the burning smell was coming from. Ash tugged on her sleeve, pointing out the thin veil of smoke above them. “I know there’s smoke. Something’s burning, so of course there’s going to be smoke.” With a sigh, Ash grabbed the chemist and swordsman, dragging them towards the source of the smoke.

When they arrived, they were greeted by the sight of the other Ultimates rushing buckets of water into the Physics Lab. Thick, dark smoke poured out from the open doors, prompting both Kai and Victoria to cover their noses with their sleeves. Ash quickly grabbed Blake by the shoulders. “H-hey! Let me go, we’ve got to stop the fire!” The volcanologist signed for a bit, questioning the struggling puppeteer. Blake took a few shallow breaths before he finally answered, “Look, we don’t know how the fire started, okay? All we know is that Karlof’s in there!”

“Karlof?” Victoria’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why would he be in the Physics Lab?”

“Why the SNORK would we care about why he’s in there?!” Blake retorted. “Just grab a SNORKing bucket and help us out here!”

Kai ran to the nearest toilet, where Zane and Jay were frantically filling up the buckets of water. Not bothering to greet them, he grabbed the nearest filled bucket, ignoring the water that spilled out from his excessive movement. Kai dashed into the Lab, momentarily stunned by the emerald green flames engulfing everything in sight. He threw the contents of the bucket at the nearest fire, which fizzled before igniting yet again. “What the SNORK?”

“Kai!” He looked up to see Ash and Victoria, the two partially covered by the smoke. “Get out of the Lab! We’re going to cut off the air supply!”

“But what about Karlof? And you guys?”

“There’s an exit to the fourth floor from here!” Victoria yelled back. “ _Just get out and close the doors!_ ”

Kai stared at them for a moment, before he grabbed his bucket and ran back out of the Lab, slamming the doors behind him. “Kai, what the SNORK?!” Bolobo yelled. “There’s living people in there! You can’t just leave them to burn in there!”

“Ash and Victoria say there’s going to cut of the air supply, and that there’s an exit to the fourth floor from there.” Kai coughed up a bit of smoke, dropping the bucket. “T-they say they’ll be fine!”

“They better be,” Blake got close to Kai, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Or I’ll make you eat those words.”

* * *

The group waited anxiously as the fire within the Lab raged on, no one daring to speak as they prayed for their fellow Ultimates’ safety.

“Geez, and I thought I made the rule very clear!” Monokuma popped out, dressed from head to paw in a blood-splattered firefighter’s outfit.

Blake got up, grabbing the bear by the scruff of its neck as the others screamed at him to put the bear down. “What rule.”

“No killing more than two people at a time,” the bear replied, annoyed by the screaming. “And calm down! I’m not gonna blow up this time! Blakey here just forgot to clean his ears before stepping out of his room today!”

“Wait.” Blake’s grip only grew tighter. “More. Than. Two.”

“Yup!” The bear chuckled. “Your precious Victoria Faust and Ash Coy are dead!”

Apollo sprung forward, pulling the puppeteer back before he could attack the bear. “Let me go!” He reached out for the bear, who merely sat down and stared back. “I’ll kill that son of a SNORK!”

“Blake, calm down. I’m fine.”

Victoria approached the group, her lab coat barely covering her body. It was burned in multiple locations, the sleeves completely tattered. Her hair was messily tied back into a ponytail, and her glasses were crooked. “Can’t say the same about Ash, though. Poor guy nearly got crushed under some debris.”

Monokuma huffed, crossing its arms as it checked the security cameras. “Geez, fine. Maybe I lied about them being dead. It’s still time for the investigation, though.”

“Wait,” Zane narrowed his eyes at the bear. “You’re telling us to go back into the Lab, a place that  _just_  finished burning down, a place that is  _clearly_  on the verge of falling apart, a-”

“Yeah, yeah, a place that’s dangerous. I get it.” Monokuma shrugged. “But we have to get the investigation going. And by we, I mean you need this investigation!”

Kai snorted. “I’m surprised that you care about us.”

“It doesn’t care about us, Cole.” Lou got up, readjusting his hoodie. “It just wants to humiliate us. The faster we finish the investigation, the faster it can start the trial and kill us all.”

“Uh, Lou, I think that’s-”

Jay rested a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. “Just let him be.”

Kai tried his best to ignore the dancer’s unwavering stare as he got up as well. “If that’s what Monokuma wants, then that’s what Monokuma’s gonna get. Let’s start the investigation.”

* * *

**_Investigation Start!_ **

 

 

 

Kai carefully stepped over a charred piece of metal, looking around the mess that was once the Physics Lab as the body announcement played twice. “Christ, this place is a SNORKstorm.”

“You don’t say,” Jay muttered back. “Let’s start digging.”

The swordsman and inventor walked over to a stand, where a glass case rested completely untouched. Inside the case was a circuit board, wires tangled up and dangling over the sides of the case. At the front of the stand was a human-shaped lump, unfortunately burnt to a crisp.

“I wonder who that was?” Kai thought out loud.

Jay pointed to a maroon scrap of fabric near the head of the lump. “That looks like Gravis’ hat, no?”

“Geez, an astrophysicist dying in a physics lab.” Blake laughed from across the room. “Oh boy, that’s gonna be quite the joke to share in the staff room.”

“Blake, you didn’t even work here.” Victoria walked closer to the puppeteer, taking a look at the chunk of melted metal in his hands. It barely retained its original shape, the ends melted off into the puddle which Blake had found the chunk in. “Now that’s interesting.”

Kai scurried over to the duo, curious to see if they had found any evidence. “What’s that?”

“Seems to be a chunk of metal,” Blake replied. “Maybe [Joke Has Been Lost In Snorklation]”

 

Julien let out a sigh from across the Lab. “Terrell, don’t corrupt the students.”

“But I’m not doing anything!”

Jacob whacked Apollo on the hat. “Which is why you need to do things, and Blake needs to stop making dildo jokes at a crime scene.”

Kai rolled his eyes at Blake’s joke. “Not funny,” he thought. “But it’s evidence, so…”

 

_ “Metal Chunk” added to inventory. _

 

“Kai! Over here!” Jay had moved to a different part of the room, where Julien and Bolobo were checking out a mangled corpse. Kai hesitantly approached, the arm of the corpse having been broken and bent awkwardly. A look of fear was frozen on their face, soot covering the rest of their body. “I think we found the origin of the fire.”

“Really?” Kai stared at the corpse, trying to identify them. “How could you guys tell?”

Jay flipped the corpse onto their stomach, pointing at the burns and tracing out a V-shaped pattern. “You see this area here? The burns here are much worse compared to the rest on the corpse. From what I remember, the origin of the fire has the worst fire damage compared to everything else that was affected by the fire, since it’s going to be in contact with the fire for the longest period of time.” The inventor gestured to the other groups in the Lab. “At first glance, you’d think that everything’s a disorganised mess, completely unhelpful towards the investigation. But once you start to focus and compare everything based on a common factor, such as the severity of the fire damage, things start to fall into place. Long story short, fire burns away from the point of origin, making it easy to trace the path of the fire by working backwards.”

“You deduced all of that from a simple bunch of burns? Geez.” Kai seemed skeptical about his conclusion. “Better than nothing,” he eventually thought.

 

_ “Origin of Fire: Corpse” added to inventory. _

 

“Okay, if you know so much about fire, do you know what could have caused the fire?”

Jay flipped the corpse back to their original position. “You saw the metal mess Blake and Victoria had. It was pretty close to this corpse, so we can estimate the temperature to be around 1500°C.  Steel starts losing its form around those temperatures, which is why I can conclude that. I should know,” he muttered, “since I burned myself a few times in my workshop. Anyway, back to the topic.” He tugged lightly on the burned fabric, which easily came off. “I’m not an expert, but I should be able to tell what the thing that caused the fire to be by taking a quick sniff.”

Kai watched as Jay took a whiff, only to start coughing and hacking. “O-okay! That’s  _definitely_  gasoline!”

“Next time,” Julien took the fabric out of Jay’s hands, “do not take such a big sniff. However, I do have to say that I am impressed with your analysis of the crime scene. Your logic is fairly sound, although you should have used simpler terms while explaining to Kai and Floros.”

Jay’s eyes lit up. “REALLY?”

Kai took that as the sign to leave the conversation before Jay could reply.

 

_“Cause of Fire: Gasoline” added to inventory._

 

The swordsman walked back to Victoria, who was still looking at the metal chunk. “Hey, Victoria?”

“Yes?”

He gestured to the railing where he had seen her and Ash earlier. “Can you show me how to get up there? I want to see if we can find out how the killer got here without Gravis or the other person knowing.”

“If you guys hadn’t figured out our second victim is Karlof by now, you’re all stupid.” Lou forced a laugh. “I mean, the only people we’re missing are Karlof and Gravis.”

“And Cole,” Norman added with a hint of sarcasm.

Lou pointed towards Kai. “Cole’s right there. Do you need glasses, Giles?”

The swordsman shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to comment of Lou gradual loss of sanity. As the scout started arguing with the dancer, Kai followed Victoria up to the second floor of the Lab, observing the debris scattered along the stairway up. A flash of bright orange caught Kai’s eye, prompting him to stop and examine the spot. “That’s strange. I recognise this…”

“Kai, we have to hurry.” Victoria walked back to him, frowning when she saw him distracted by the orange fabric. “Who knows when the bear’s going to stop the investigation?”

“No, I think this is evidence.” Kai tried to move the pieces of concrete pinning the fabric to the ground, only to fall back onto his rear. “SNORK it!”

“If only Karlof was here,” the chemist mumbled.

Kai shook his head, his hand resting on the hilt of the Sword of Fire. “I can handle this.” He drew the Sword, positioning it above the concrete. Raising it up, he swung the blade downwards, activating the switch which set the blade ablaze. The flaming sword sliced through the concrete, coming to a stop when it touched the fabric. Smiling to himself, he turned off the flames, returning the Sword back to its sheath. “And that’s how you do it.”

“What the SNORK, Kai.”

“Can’t I look cool for a bit?” Kai kneeled on the ground, grabbing the fabric. He turned it around in his hands, trying to find any sign of damage to the cloak. "Just as I suspected."

"What's that?"

"It's made of special kinds of fabric Skylor's dad uses for his group. He calls it 'Serpentine Armour' or something." He raised the fabric up, showing the orange cloak to the chemist. "I don't know what he uses, but I'm willing to bet that it's probably illegal materials."

Victoria nodded her head in agreement. "Sounds like Chen, alright. I've heard from Norman that he's got a cult dedicated to snakes and everything." She tugged on the fabric. "Seems to be fireproof, and highly resistant to damage. If I were a killer intending to start a fire, this would definitely be my choice of clothing."

"New evidence, great!" Kai folded the cloak neatly before stuffing it into his satchel. "I think the fire resistant one is under a branch called 'Fangpyre', so I'll call it as that in the trial." 

 

 

 

_ "Fangpyre Cloak" added to inventory. _

 

 

 

"Wonderful. We have the cause of the fire, the origin of the fire, and something worn by the killer." Victoria pulled out her ElectroID to open the latest Monokuma File, hesitating when she saw two instead of one file. "Time to see what Monokuma has to say about the victims."

_"Victim #1 is Grayson 'Gravis' Jordan, the former Ultimate Astrophysicist. His cause of death is blunt force trauma directed towards the head. Said trauma broke the skull, leading to brain hemorrhage. Victim fell unconscious after initial hit, and eventually died from bloodloss. Object used to cause blunt force trauma unknown, due to charred state of victim's corpse."_

 

 

 

_ "Monokuma File A: Gravis" added to inventory. _

 

 

 

_"Victim #2 is Karlof Volkov, the former Ultimate Aerospace Engineer. Victim was burned to death. Autopsy reveals multiple fractures in victim's arms, and one fracture in right leg, suggesting a fall prior to death. Cause of fire unknown."_

 

 

_"Yeah, unknown to you,"_  Kai thought to himself.  _"A fall? That could explain the arm's position, though."_

 

 

_"Monokuma File B: Karlof" added to inventory._

 

Victoria let out a heavy sigh. "Oh poor Karlof. It's a shame he's gone now."

"You make it sound like we lost someone really important," Kai replied. "I mean, we're all missing three years of memories. I can't really say that I've known him well, especially since I was a student."

"Well, you weren't supposed to be under his care, so I won't be surprised if you don't remember anything about him even after we get our memories back." Victoria looked off into the distance. "You know that each student has a few teachers assigned to them, right?"

Kai looked up at her. "I mean, it's kind of obvious. Griffin for the athletic students, Camellia for Skylor, Karlof and Julien for Jay, Norman for Zane..."

"Norman for Zane?"

"Just... pretend I never said that."

A blast of static sounded over the intercom, clearing up to reveal Monokuma's voice.  _"Ahem! Students, it is time for the Class Trial! Please make your way to the elevator located on the Ground Floor! Chop chop, we don't have all day!"_

Kai got up, staring at the scorched speaker hanging above them. "Stupid bear," he muttered.

* * *

Apollo was the last one to enter the elevator, supporting a bandaged Ash who limped next to him. "We're screwed," he announced. The injured man rolled his eyes, moving away from the illusionist to lean against Victoria.

With everyone present, the elevator's doors slammed shut, the metal cage slowly beginning its descent. Kai shifted nervously, his eyes focused on the ground. 

"Hey, Kai." Blake approached the swordsman, shoving a piece of paper into his hands. "I've got something you might need."

Kai eyed the puppeteer suspiciously, before opening up the paper. "This is a page from a textbook. Where did you get this from?"

"I dug it out from Tox's trashcan," he replied. "I mean, if you're gonna dig in toilets, I might as well start digging in trashcans to help."

"Yeah," Kai snorted, "as if you were any help during the previous trials. All you did was argue with me, and point fingers at people."

The puppeteer sighed. "Look, let bygones be bygones."

"You nearly killed us back in the first trial."

"In my defence, Julien was a good liar." Blake briefly looked away, letting out a heavy sigh. "Listen carefully. I'm only doing this to protect Apollo, okay? I have a bad feeling about this fire, so make sure you don't say what's on the paper. The killer might be listening." He clenched his fists. "That information's gonna be the only thing you'll have that isn't something known by most of the group."

"And what makes you so sure that it's going to be my trump card?" Kai narrowed his eyes. "Unless..."

"Don't get any ideas yet, kid." Blake crossed his arms. "You'll find out why I know this someday. Let's just say I have seen some SNORK for the time being."

Kai made sure to read the information on the page, before stuffing it into his satchel.

 

_ "Textbook Page: Quantitative Analysis" added to inventory. _

 

The elevator finally came to a stop, doors opening wide.

Twenty Ultimates had been trapped in the school.

Four Ultimates had been murdered.

Two Ultimate had been executed.

Thirteen Ultimates will enter the courtroom.

Now, either twelve Ultimates will leave the courtroom, with one having to face the consequences of their actions, or an Ultimate would walk out of a massacre, rising above them all with nothing but the guilt of having killed fourteen others in their quest for freedom.

Kai took a deep breath, looking up at the speaker above them for the signal to leave.  _"Come on..."_

"We have arrived at the courtroom. Please enter and take your respective seats!"

_"Round Three. Nya, wish me luck."_

* * *

_**Preparing for Class Trial.**_  

_ Loading Cartridge… _

_ -"Metal Chunk: Wrench” _

_ -"Origin of Fire: Corpse" _

_ -"Cause of Fire: Gasoline" _

_ -"Fangpyre Cloak” _

_ -"Monokuma File A: Gravis” _

_ -"Monokuma File B: Karlof”  
_

_ -"Textbook Page: Quantitative Analysis" _

_Inventory inaccessible._

**_ Proceeding with Class Trial... _ **


	24. Arc 3: Trial of Earth and Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial for Gravis and Karlof begins.
> 
> All rise!
> 
> uhhh i had a update thingy on the main fic there but i'm lazy to snorkify it so i'll post the tl;dr of the end notes in end notes

Kai froze as soon as he stepped into the courtroom.

 

_"Christ, what was the Mastermind thinking?!"_

He looked around, finding himself relieved that most of his fellow Ultimates had the same reactions. Julien was even cleaning his glasses, putting them on and off as he tried to get used to what he was seeing. "I know I am growing old and may be losing my sight, but is anyone else seeing this  _horrendous_  excuse of a paint job?"

"You're not alone, Doc."

The courtroom was a complete mess, nuts, screws, and bolts all scattered across the floor. Each piece rested on one star, filling up the star chart painted on the floor. Kai look up at the ceiling, quickly looking back down at the ground once he laid eyes on the painting of the sky on it. The blues were sloppily mixed with orange, fresh paint still dripping down the sides of the walls.

Monokuma sat upon its usual throne, although this time there were propellers attached to the armrests. "Well, what are ya'll waiting for? Go to your stands!"

Kai stared at the stands, trying to remember where he usually stood. "Maybe it wouldn't be that hard if you didn't paint half of them grey and half of them maroon..." He avoided looking at the stand which belonged to Skylor, the photograph of her covered by a cross, similar to the one she had died on.

"I'll tell you why they're painted later, just go to your usual stands!"

Everyone eventually found their usual positions, some grumbling about the colour of their stand. Kai rested his hands on the grey stand before him, flinching at how warm it felt. Next to him, Zane cursed. "Are you trying to burn us?!" he yelled at Monokuma.

Monokuma kicked up its legs onto the armrests, ignoring Zane. “Now, let’s begin with a simple explanation of the Class Trial! Your votes, that is, the votes of everyone currently alive in this room, will determine the conclusion of our humble trials. If you correctly deduce who the killer is, and the majority votes for the murderer of our dearly departed, then only the ‘blackened’ will receive punishment. However, the opposite will happen if the majority does not vote for the ‘blackened’. Long story short, they’ll go free, the rest of you die. Vote correctly, only they die. Sounds good? Then let’s begin with a summary of the case!”

"Hold up, whose case do we discuss first?" Jay took out his ElectroID, pointing to the two different Monokuma Files. "Gravis' or Karlof's?"

"Just do the summary first, I said I'll explain later!"

"Then I shall begin with Grayson's case summary." Julien copied Jay, this time opening up Gravis' file. "Our first victim is Grayson Jordan, also known as Gravis. He is the former Ultimate Astrophysicist. His corpse was burned in a fire, which took place in the Physics Lab. His cause of death, however, was blunt force trauma."

"And then there's our second victim, Karlof Volkov, former Ultimate Aerospace Engineer." Victoria picked up where Julien had left off. "He burned to death in the same fire."

"There's not much to discuss," Bolobo pointed out, "since we know most of the things in the case."

"We still need to go through the usual discussions," Jacob replied. "I mean, we don't even know who we're supposed to vote for."

"You'll be voting for Karlof's killer, since they're the same person who caused Gravis' death." Monokuma got up from its seat, pulling out a yellow button. "And now, for something special!"

It hit the button, causing the stands to suddenly move. Kai gripped on for dear life as they were sent spinning across the room, until all the stands were separated by colour. He look at the people with him, mentally noting that 

Jay, Ash, Blake, Norman, and Lou were on his side. On the maroon side was Zane, Julien, Victoria, Apollo, Bolobo, Griffin, and Jacob. Once they were separated, the stands of the deceased moved behind Monokuma's throne. "Ta-da!"

"What happened?" Jacob asked.

"We were separated by the colour of our stands." Lou cast a glance at Kai. "But at least it's good to know that I'm on my son's side."

_"I'm not your SNORKed son,"_  Kai thought to himself. "You're on the maroon side, Jacob."

"Now, as you guys have pointed out, you're now in teams!" Monokuma clapped its paws together. "The Grey Team will discuss Karlof's case, while the Maroon Team will discuss Gravis' case! Simple as pie!"

"But if we're discussing different cases," Norman looked up at the bear. "How will we decided on who to vote for?"

"This clearly means that if we find the reasons behind each case, there's gotta be a way to connect the two cases!" Griffin quickly turned to his team. "Alright! Let's get started then." 

 

 

* * *

While the Maroon Team focused on why Gravis was in the Lab, Kai was astounded by the lack of progress on their side.

Ash was desperately trying to grab everyone's attention, while Norman and Lou bickered over something completely unrelated to the case. Jay and Blake stood by the side, gradually moving away from the pair.

"Yo! Lou, Norman, shut the SNORK up and actually help with the SNORKed case!" Blake had lost his patience, finally yelling at the duo.

"You can't tell me what to do," Lou quickly replied, before turning his attention back to the argument.

Jay motioned for Kai to get closer, which he did. "Man, those two are complete messes, aren't they..."

"You could say that again," Kai muttered under his breath. "If only there was a way to get just  _one_  of them to listen."

"Well Norman's new [Joke Lost In Snorklation] on the other team, and you-know-who is gone, so we're SNORKed." Blake looked away from the pair, only to stare at Kai. "Unless..."

Kai tried his best to guess what the puppeteer was thinking. "Did you want me to shoot my Truth Bullets at them?"

"Your what now? Ew, no." Blake ignoring Kai's flustered explanations. "I was thinking about the fact that Lou thinks you're Cole."

"And how creepy it is? Super, super creepy." Jay shuddered. "Like, stalker levels of creepy."

Blake nodded. "It's creepy, yeah. But we should use that to our advantage in the meantime." He pointed towards Lou. "Kai. Try telling him to stop. But, like, in a Cole way."

"And what  _exactly_  is a Cole way?"

Blake shrugged, earning a sigh from the swordsman. "Fine, I'll try it out." Kai walked closer to the pair, keeping his eyes on Lou. He deepened his voice, opening his mouth to say, "Hey, uh, Dad. Can you maybe chill and help us out over here?"

_"I feel like throwing up,"_ Kai thought to himself. _"Cole, if you can hear me, I am so SNORKing sorry."_

Lou stared blankly at Kai for a brief moment, only to pull him into a tight hug immediately afterwards. "You called me Dad!" he cried out loud, hugging him tighter. "This is the happiest day of my life!"

Ash slammed his hands down onto his stand, drawing Blake's attention to the volcanologist. "You wanna say something, buddy?" Ash gestured something to the puppeteer as Jay tried his best to free Kai from Lou's bear hug. "Wait, really? Then it's a good thing you're on our team..." He looked over at the suffocating swordsman. "You and I both know the best way to catch the killer, but there's no way we'll be able to prove that you're innocent. You went into the fire."

Ash rolled his eyes, signing faster. "Okay, okay, geez. We'll let Monokuma have its fun, then we'll get to work."

"Can we just start discussing the case already?" Jay held the heaving Kai close. "The other team's probably on their way to finding out who Gravis' killer is!"

"F-fine... let's just get the first Nonstop Debate over with."

"The what now?"

"...nevermind."

 

**Nonstop Debate #1**

Blake: So what is there to discuss?

Blake: We know practically everything about Karlof's death.

Jay: He died in the fire.

Jay: And he probably caused Gravis' death, too.

Norman: Karlof was a pacifist.

Norman: There was  **no way he would have killed Gravis**. 

Norman: Let alone attack anyone.

Lou: Camellia was a pacifist too.

Lou: And yet she tried to kill an old defenceless man. 

Norman: Shut up about it!

Blake: Can you two just shut up already?!

"Metal Chunk: Wrench" >  **"...no way he would have killed Gravis."**

**BREAK!!!**

 

"Objection!" Kai aggressively pointed at Norman. "I disagree with that statement!"

"That's probably copyrighted you idiot!" Apollo yelled from the other team. "Are you that desperate for a unique catchphrase?"

"I'm out of sword puns, just leave me alone, man!" Kai made sure the illusionist kept quiet before continuing with his explanation. "There was a way for Karlof to have killed Gravis. Karlof has  **his signature wrench**  he carries around, no? It wasn't  **near his corpse**  earlier. This means that it wasn't with him at the time of his death," he closed his eyes, trying to remember the crime scene, "instead, we  **found it near Gravis' corpse**. The grand conclusion? Karlof's wrench was used to kill him!"

Norman rolled his eyes. "So what if Karlof did kill Gravis? We've gotten nowhere."

"W-well, it means we know that Karlof killed Gravis...?" Kai seemed caught off guard. "That's important?"

"You don't even sound confident about your own point," Norman replied. "As much as this sounds absolutely to say out loud, we're not going to be convinced like this."

Kai kept quiet.  _"Alright, so I've proven that Karlof killed Gravis, and what the wrench was used for, but what's next?"_

"Excuse me if I sound stupid, but how did the fire start?" Norman was resting against his stand.

Jay spoke up before Kai could answer. "Karlof was the origin of the fire. The true killer somehow got gasoline onto him, then they lit a match and boom!" He threw his hands up. "Fire! Add a bit of time and the whole lot of smoke, and you've got a delicious Karlof pizza, with a side of smoked lungs."

Ash glared at Jay, earning a snort from Blake. "Ya know, you shouldn't make such ridiculous comparisons when we're on the same team as the guy who's been working with smoke his entire life." 

"Hey, smoked salmon is delicious," Jay retorted. 

"Look, guys, we're getting horribly off topic here." Kai took his head out of his hands, eyes focused on the ground. "Let's consolidate our information so far. Maybe we can-"

"TIME'S UP!" Monokuma slammed its gavel down onto one of the throne's armrests, causing the stands to spin back into their original arrangement. "I've given all of you enough time to discuss your sides of the case, and now it's time to put everything together for one final debate!"

"Wait, what?"

There was an uproar as the Ultimates started objecting, everyone agreeing that the given time limit was not enough for any of them to come up with substantial evidence or solid points. Apollo even threw his hat at the bear. "You're telling us we waited nearly two months for a SNORKy cliffhanger?"

"Uh, duh." Monokuma spun its gavel in its paw for a bit, whistling a soft tune as the hat landed squarely on its head. "I'm bored, you're all bored, the author's bored, and there's not much to talk about when it comes to this trial. I mean, the author nearly gave up on this entire adventure a few weeks ago, do you really think there's any effort going into this one particular chapter? Besides, no one really gives a SNORK about this story."

There was an awkward silence as everyone else tried to digest what Monokuma had just thrown at them. "Chapter...?"

"PRETEND I SAID NOTHING AND GET BACK TO ARGUING ABOUT MURDERS." 

Trying his best to shake off the feeling of discomfort, Kai took out his notebook, flipping through the pages to review his Truth Bullets (which were simple notes and pictures of the evidence he had collected). "I'll start the summary of what my team managed to find out first, if our," he swallowed, " _beloved Headmaster_  will allow that." Hearing no sign of objection from the bear, he flipped to the first page related to this case.

 

"Our case starts with Karlof meeting Gravis. As per usual..."

Present: "Metal Chunk: Wrench"

" **He brought his signature wrench with him**. An unknown event happens, leading to Karlof hitting Gravis with enough force to kill him. Time passes, and the true culprit..."

Present: "Origin of Fire: Corpse"

" **Kills Karlof** , using..."

Present: "Cause of Fire: Gasoline"

" **Gasoline** , after setting it on fire." Kai lowered the notebook. "That's the furthest we've gotten."

 

"Thank you, Kai," Zane gave him a slight nod, "for your team's insightful addition to this case. I'll start a summary for what we got on our side."

"Just like your team's conclusion, we started with Gravis meeting Karlof for unknown reasons." Zane pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "We found this under Gravis' hat. It's written by Karlof, asking to meet him in the Physics Lab."

" _Karlof_ asked for Gravis?" Blake seemed a bit skeptical about the idea. "Karlof and Gravis were in the same batch, so I can understand there being a slight connection between the two, but they didn't interact at all. They've never had a reason talk, much less during this whole ordeal."

Zane nodded. "That point was discussed, and we came to the conclusion that the true culprit was the author of this note." He paused. "We don't really have much to add, considering our side of the case is pretty straight forward. Gravis says or does something that spooks Karlof, and Karlof responds by killing him accidentally."

 

 

 

_ "Mysterious Note" added to Inventory. _

 

"Something just doesn't make sense, though." Victoria scratched the back of her neck. "How did the killer get in and out of the lab unscathed? The fire was the worst on the first floor of the lab, and yet when Ash and I left the lab from the second floor's emergency exit, the exit's lock was still intact."

"A lock, you say?" There was a hint of confusion in Bolobo's voice. "Why would there be a lock on an exit meant to save lives?"

"The locking mechanism used by The Academy's emergency exits is not the kind of lock you would expect to see on a normal door," Julien explained. "Once opened, a marking will indicate the usage of said exit. Only certain staff members have the ability to reset the marker, using a device and confidential methods. As the creator of this prestigious Academy's security system," he bowed slightly, "I am proud to announce that all my information regarding this matter is completely accurate, as this marker system was only created last year during a collaborative project involving Dr. Cyrus Borg and I."

Kai's eyes lit up. "So what you're saying is, there's only a few people who can successfully remove the marker?"

"Well, yes. That is essentially what I have tried to explain just now."

"Tell us Doc..." Kai's grip on his stand tightened. "Who are these people?"

* * *

"Why would that be of any use to us?" Jacob was trying his best to keep up with the rest. "Does it help the investigation?"

Kai nodded. "Yeah, if the marker was reset, and it was impossible to get out of the lab from the front entrance without enough force, that leaves the emergency exit as the only way the true culprit could have left the scene without any of us noticing."

"If what Julien said was correct," Jacob seemed deep in thought, "then it gives us more than one possible culprit."

"That's true," Kai replied, "but we should narrow down the range of suspects first before making any further guesses."

"Well then, Julien?" 

The roboticist took out an old notebook, flipping through the earlier pages. "The Headmasters were the first ones who had the access, alongside yours truly. Then came the Heads of Department. Those would be," he flipped to another page, "Griffin Turner, Victoria Faust, Jacob Pevsner, Misako Garmadon, and Bolobo Floros. The last people who have access to the device would be the current Talent Scouts, Norman Giles and Camellia Fox."

"Let's take the dead people out of the equation." Jay counted the number of people left. "Chamile's dead, and so is Misako. We have no idea where any of the Garmadons are, leaving us with... almost everyone you've listed."

"Hold on." Kai was scribbling in his notebook, looking up at the inventor. "When Ash, Victoria and I showed up, everyone still alive was present. The three of us went into the lab, and I was the only one who didn't go up to the next floor."

"The marker was reset when I saw it, meaning that someone had been there before me." Victoria gestured at Ash, who merely nodded. "Ash saw the marker as well. Anyone wants to start giving their alibis?"

"I can vouch for Griffin and Norman," Apollo said. "We were watching some movies in the AV Room."

"'Movie' is a horrible way of putting them," Norman rolled his eyes, "since they were all reenacted versions of actual good films."

"Ever wanted to watch Monokumas suffering from cancer?" Griffin was trying his best to stifle his laughter. "'The Fault in Our Bears.' Snakes with Monokuma heads? 'Bears on a Plane.'"

"Hey! Those are high quality films you're insulting here!" Monokuma got up from its throne. "Sooo much better than the 'originals'."

"I was preparing dinner in the kitchen with Zane," Bolobo chimed in.

Blake raised his hand. "I was in the auditorium with Jacob and Lou. They were practicing some routine, but I have no idea what it was."

"That covers everyone," Kai realised. "Yet something here just doesn't add up..."

"Hey, Doc. I know this is confidential and all, but uh," Jay looked down at the floor, trying to ignore the roboticist's stare. "What does this device look like, and is there a log of who used it last?"

Julien sighed, finally pulling out a small key-shaped device. "This is the device. There is a hole you are supposed to stick it in on the other side of the door, once you have entered and are about to leave. Each one of our devices has an unique signature, in order to track who has been entering and exiting the lab. Data is transmitted to an application on a certain monitor in the control room."

"Awesome!" A smile broke out on Kai's face. "Then let's a have a look at that application. We'll be able to see who left before Victoria did."

"Sorry kids, no can do!" Monokuma interrupted, slamming its gavel on the armrests again. "Fifth floor is off-limits until after the fourth round. That's just how this game works, remember?"

"Monokuma, you're not allowed to interrupt our investigation, remember?" Kai raised his voice, breaking through the heated discussions amongst the Ultimates. "You said it to me yourself. Back during Camellia's investigation."

_"Way to contaminate the evidence, dumbSNORK. Anyways, clue number two: you can find information about the corpse's condition on your ID. I'm not allowed to hide anything from you… except for the killer's name, of course."_

"I had cut my hand on one of the glass shards in her head, and you reprimanded me for contaminating evidence. As a way of mocking me, you had 'kindly' pushed me in the right method of investigating. Your second hint was about the Monokuma Files, and you said we could find every detail of the corpse within." Kai's voice grew louder. "You yourself said that you're not allowed to hide anything with the exception of the killer's name."

"Well, you just said that I'm not allowed to reveal the killer's name, soooo..." Monokuma leaned back into its throne. "Checking the record would mean revealing his name, so I can't let you all see that."

"His, you say?" Julien repeated what Monokuma had said, the bear flinching when it heard the mistake. "That helps narrow down the list of suspects even further..."

"Still doesn't help much, doc." Griffin leaned against his stand. "I mean, Vic's the last girl standing. Plus, we know for a fact that her name would show up on the record."

"Actually..."

Everyone turned their attention to Kai, who had his head back in his notebook. "I think there's a good way to find out who our greatest suspect is. One small detail we've been overlooking this entire time."

 

Present: "Textbook Page: Quantitative Analysis"

 

He pulled out the page Blake had given him earlier. "This is a page on the chapter of Quantitative Analysis. It details certain tests and reactions which can be used to determine the presence of certain elements or compounds in a mixture. One of said reactions listed on this page, is green fire when a certain compound is combusted in the presence of excess oxygen, or in layman terms, burned."

"I knew we were forgetting something!" Victoria eagerly took off her labcoat. "Kai, catch!"

Kai barely caught the coat, gears grinding in his head as he continued. "The fire in the lab was green, meaning the gasoline used to fuel the fire had traces of the compound needed for the change in colour. If someone had been in the lab during the fire, their clothes would have been contaminated with the compound. That includes the person who started the fire!" He put down his notebook, drawing the Sword of Fire. "Let's do a test to see if my theory stands, shall we?"

The swordsman carefully sliced off a portion of the coat's sleeve, throwing the rest of the coat back to its owner. He held the piece of fabric carefully in his hand, pressing the tip of the blade against it. With one practiced motion, he flipped the switch.

The blade burst into flames, quickly catching the fabric on fire as well. A brilliant emerald flame grew in Kai's grasp, earning shocked gasps from the other groups.

Including Monokuma.

With a satisfied smirk, Kai put out his blade, the flame dying out quickly. "Now then, let's have Ash give us a piece of his clothes as well. Repeating an experiment to get the average always leads to a better accuracy, after all."

Ash obeyed, taking off his vest and passing it to Kai. Kai repeated the same procedure as before, with the exact same result. For good measure, Kai cut off a portion of his own shirt, destroying it in the familiar emerald flames.

"It's all green," Zane muttered in wonder. "We finally have a lead that can't be stopped by that SNORKed bear!"

"Hey!"

Ignoring Monokuma's frantic gravel slams, Kai raised the Sword's tip to the ceiling. "Let's get this burning party started!" he exclaimed excitedly.

* * *

After the mass clothes burning, one thing was clear.

Kai sheathed the Sword. he lowered his head as he said, "Jacob, Blake, do you two want to explain why you were in the lab?"

"Hah, you're gonna accuse me of arson?" Blake forced a laugh. "I'm not that stupid. I went in to scout the lab. How else do you think I knew that Karlof was in the lab?"

"You told us that you were with Jacob and Lou in the auditorium!" Julien quickly turned to Lou. "Brookstone! Explain this!"

"I was in the auditorium with Cole." Lou was toying with his cane, a dazed smile on his face. "I was wishing him a happy birthday, remember?"

Norman huffed. "Look, we've now established that Lou is no longer a good person to ask for actual facts. He's SNORKing nuts. Lost his marbles. Take it from me, I'm a professional."

"Everyone here can vouch for me entering the lab first," Blake added. "Right guys?"

A chorus of agreement followed.

"This leaves us with..." Kai kept his eyes on the musician. "Jacob?"

"You're not accusing a blind man of committing murder, are you?" There was no sign of emotion on his face, just a slight disappointed tone. "I can barely find my way around the entire Academy, and you're saying I managed to get out of the lab before the fire went nuts?"

"It is not impossible," Julien retorted, "since different concentrations and mixtures of gasoline burn at different speeds. I did an inventory check of the lab's materials during the investigation, and one of the less volatile gasoline mixtures had gone missing. I have had an accident involving said mixture in the past, and it burns at a rate that is slow enough for me to run to the upper floor, grab the emergency bucket of sand, and return to the first floor to put out the fire."

"That's not enough evidence to start throwing accusations around!"

"Not enough? How about I give a good detailed explanation of what crime you've committed then?" Kai opened up his notebook again, getting ready for the closing argument.

 

"Under the cover of the night, a man..."

Present: "Mysterious Note"

" **Slips two similar notes to our victims: Karlof Volkov, and Gravis** , also known as Grayson Jordan. Posing as the other party, the man tricks both of them into meeting in the Physics Lab on the third floor. Due to the high temperatures, and tension amongst us..."

Present: "Metal Chunk: Wrench"

"Karlof  **panics**  after Gravis does or says something, leading to..." 

Present: "Monokuma File A: Gravis"

" **Gravis' death by blunt force trauma**. Sensing that one of the victims had taken the bait, our killer closes in on the remaining prey, protected not only by the darkness, but also..."

Present: "Fangpyre Cloak" 

" **A special cloak, made from fire-resistant materials**. Karlof notices our killer, and in a fit of rage, fueled by the unjust death of his coworker, chases after them. The chase brings the duo to the second floor of the lab, where..."

Present: "Monokuma File B: Karlof"

"The killer gets the upper hand on Karlof,  **pushing him over the railing and causing him to break both his arms and a leg**. If Karlof had died from the fall, the killer would have left, satisfied with the finished job. However, Karlof moves, alerting the killer of his survival. And thus..."

Present: "Cause of Fire: Gasoline"

" **Douses Karlof in a gasoline mixture with a low concentration** , before..."

Present: "Origin of Fire: Corpse"

" **Setting the poor engineer on fire**. However..."

Present: "Textbook Page: Quantitative Analysis"

"Due to an unknown contamination,  **the fire burns with a green colouration**. Having handled the contaminated gasoline, the killer gets some of the mixture onto himself. When his clothes were burned, a green flame reveals his true identity."

"Isn't that right, Jacob Pevsner?"

* * *

"Oh boy, voting time, my favourite!" Monokuma chuckled as it reviewed the voting results. "Well, let's get this entire ordeal over with. Can't have the audience yelling at us for discriminating against a handicapped man, can we?"

"Actually-"

"I was kidding." Monokuma gestured towards the slot machine. "Let's see the results!"

The machine's slot spun, taking a while before it slowed down and landed on Jacob's pixel. "Hooray! You all voted correctly! And now I get to execute someone!" Monokuma spun its gavel happily. "Does our killer have any last words for us?"

"Yeah, how about a simple, 'go SNORK yourself'?"

"Seems about right." Monokuma stood up on its throne.

_"Now then, I have a special punishment just for Jacob Pevsner, the Blind Wonder, and former Ultimate Musician himself! So let's give it everything we've got..."_

 

**_"IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"_ **

* * *

COMMENCING EXECUTION: MASH PIT

Jacob gripped on tightly to the object in his hand, trying to find out what it was. The familiar feeling of cool metal strings met his touch, a test strum confirming his suspicions.

His sitar.

A sudden burst of heat hit him, the sound of static filling his ears. Out of instinct, he covered them, trying to block out the sound. 

"Let's give it up for the Blind Wonder, Jacob Pevsner with 'A Final Shout To Space!'" Monokuma's voice screeched next to him, causing him to take a few steps back and knock over something. Sounded like a microphone stand.

"I-I don't know that song!" Jacob took another step, failing to find actual ground and falling off a ledge. He landed in something... soft. 

Loud chatter blocked out his vision as he struggled to find solid ground, flailing around desperately. Out of the blue, something hard pressed against his arm, earning a panicked scream from the musician. Several other objects wrapped themselves around his remaining limbs, one of them pressing against his head.

With a loud thud, he felt something even harder come crashing down onto his chest, knocking the breath right out of him. He struggled to breath as the object repeated its motion, a crack accompanying the next hit.

"S-stop it!" He tried to cry out, only for something to be shoved into this throat.

A loud bang soon followed.

Then silence.

FORMER ULTIMATE MUSICIAN JACOB PEVSNER'S EXECUTION: EXECUTED

* * *

"Well... wasn't that an exciting thing."

Everyone was piled up in the elevator again, waiting for the metal cage to ascend.

"What, a Monokuma with a gun?" Kai forced a laugh. "'Brilliant Bear Saves The Ultimates'?"

"I'll have you know that's an actual title we found in the AV Room," Griffin muttered.

Apollo chuckled in response."Yo, Derek Savage? Sue us."

* * *

_"*yawn* Wait, we're rolling? O-oh, uh, hello you lil' SNORKs! We've got thirtee- no? Fine then! **TWELVE**  more students remain! That's like, almost half the people we started with! Stay tuned for the next round of my despairingly amazing game, where we finally hit the halfway point!"_

_"..."_

_"What do you mean Arc 4 isn't the halfway point."_

_ **12 ULTIMATES REMAIN** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh the only important point was that i'm rewriting Rivals so cool


	25. Arc 3: Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *snorks intensively*

"Demetri."

Garmadon kept his eyes on his paperwork, avoiding eye-contact with the Monokuma unit standing on his desk. He coughed slightly, letting the unit know he was paying attention.

"You've disobeyed me, time and time again." The unit kicked over a glass of water on the desk, spilling its contents onto the former Deputy Headmaster. "Trying to rig executions. Going against our rules and helping the students on a case. Hacking one of my beautiful units, not once, but twice. What do you have to say for yourself?"

In response, Garmadon grabbed a notebook, writing down what he had rehearsed for hours on end, waiting for this particular moment.

**[Our agreement is over. My wife and son are dead. This means that I am now free to go, as per the agreement.]**

"Our agreement is over?" The unit laughed. "Oh dearest Garmadon, I never said it had a end."

**[I agreed to work under the sole condition that Lloyd and Misako are left alone. Now, both of them are dead. Based on what I know from the security footage, you made Skylor kill my wife.]**

"Aw, are you still upset about that?"

**[You said it yourself that you would leave the students alone. The only ways you would interact with them were to enforce your little rules, hold trials, execute the failures, and present motives. Nothing else.]**

"I also said that I could change the rules whenever I wanted," the unit droned. Its red eye was starting to glow. "If you're that desperate to leave my wonderful little empire, then feel free to step out of this room and never come back. I've grown sick and tired of your antics costing me thousands, even millions of potential despair!"

Garmadon was about to retort, only for his closet doors to suddenly burst wide open. A rusted humanoid hunk of metal fell out, landing right at the former Deputy Headmaster's feet.

The Monokuma unit instantly lept off the desk, moving closer to hunk to investigate. "My my, what do we have here, Garmy?" It looked up at Garmadon, who merely shrugged. "It seems like I'm not the only one with too much time on my hands..."

Before Garmadon had a chance to reply, the door to his room burst open, and a masked figure came waltzing in, accompanied by another Monokuma unit. They smirked at the stunned Garmadon, merely greeting him with, "Hello, Garmadon."

Ignoring their servant's shocked silence, the Mastermind nodded to the first unit, which picked up the hunk of metal effortlessly and waddled out of the room. "It's good to finally meet you in person," they said, toying with their mask. "A pity that Monokuma's AI had a little 'accident' and ripped your tongue out. Maybe I should install an antivirus in all future units."

The former Deputy Headmaster got to his feet, keeping his eyes on the person before him. He clenched his fists, earning a laugh from them. Just as they were about to mock him again, he reached out and ripped the mask off their face.

"No," he started to panic, dropping the mask as soon as he laid eyes on their face. "It can't be!"

"That's the last straw." The Mastermind let out an annoyed grunt, grabbing Garmadon by the collar. A crazed smile exposed their sharpened fangs as they laughed. "I've been playing nice for the past three rounds, Garmy! But now you've crossed the line, so I'm gonna have some fun with you!"

Garmadon struggled, trying to break free from their grasp. "What, are you finally regretting disobeying me?" The Mastermind dragged him out of the room, marching off towards their own room. "It's a pity we're so far away from headquarters, I'm sure the others would love to play with that pathetic body of yours. You're just like that other dog I had. All bark, and no bite!"

They passed the first Monokuma unit, which saluted as it threw the hunk of metal down the trash chute. Garmadon let out a cry of agony, reaching out towards the trash chute. "Aw, did you really care about that useless piece of junk? It couldn't even do what it was built to do." They took a right turn, stopping right in front of an old poster board. "You're just filled to the brim with surprises, you know that? I never expected you to have such big balls."

"I know what you're thinking right now, why are you talking like a broken record?" The Mastermind sneered at a poster advertising the Fencing Club, which was just a poster of a smiling Kai surrounded by faceless students. "I'll let you in on a little secret: I hate your guts. You ruined my entire life. All of these pathetic students, incompetent staff, stupid drama involving you and your poor excuse of a brother. What do I get out of this? What will I gain by torturing every single one of you? Well, you're about to find out."

They finally reached the control room, where several cameras were set up. Various monitors flickered to life once they stepped into the room, each one hosting a different livestream. "Hello, my dearest generals~" The Mastermind threw Garmadon onto the floor, smiling at the cameras. "I'm so sorry for my tardiness."

"You better have a good reason for calling us here," General 2 spoke up, a look of annoyance on his face.

General 1 laughed, leaning off his screen to block 2's screen with his own face. "My apologies, Master. He's just a bit touchy since you interrupted his jerk off session."

"S-shut your mouth!" 2 pushed 1 off-screen, his face completely flushed. "Master, I assure you that none of that is true!"

"There's no shame in being young," the Mastermind calmly replied, keeping a close eye on Garmadon. "Now let's get back on topic. I'm so glad that every single one of you could join us today, as we're going to have some fun with Servant over here!"

There was a chorus of cheers as the Mastermind pulled out a scalpel, resting the blade against Garmadon's face, whose eyes were focused on the screens displaying the generals. "Seems like you've finally figured it all out," they hummed, "but don't worry, Garmy, I'll be super gentle for your first time, okay?"

"Just close your eyes, and relax."

* * *

The current survivors gathered around the stairway, looking up toward the next floor. "So, the fourth floor's up for exploration?"

"Yup!" Monokuma gave Apollo a quick thumbs up. "There's all kinds of stuff up there. An actual Music Room, the newer Chemsitry Lab, just to name a few things."

"Oh joy, more chemicals to worry about." Victoria walked past the bear, climbing up the stairs without looking back.

The other survivors started to follow her, however Julien turned away and headed back towards the cafeteria. "Father," Zane called out to him, stopping him in his tracks, "where are you going?"

"I am going to grab a snack, Zane." Julien flashed a smile at the marksman. "Do not worry about me, I will keep an eye out for myself." With that, he walked down the stairs, ignoring Zane's calls.

The roboticist headed to the kitchen, grabbing an apple and some bread before chomping down on the fruit. He quickly finished his snack, intending on rejoining the group as fast as he could. Just as he was about to head back to the stairs, a loud crash from the basement caught his attention.

Julien considered asking the group to join him, before dismissing the idea and following the sound. He soon found himself standing in front of a large door beside the trash disposal, a giant lock standing between him and the object that had made the noise. Disappointed, Julien was about to leave the basement before he remembered the rules. Taking out his ElectroID, he checked the rules for anything against breaking locks.

_"Rule Number 4: With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Wu’s Academy for Gifted Individuals at your discretion."_

Julien briefly considered asking for a clarification of the rule, only to snort and shove the device back in his pocket.

One visit to his room later, he was armed with everything he needed to break the lock. To his surprise, it only took two hits of a chisel and hammer to destroy it, granting him access to the room behind the door. "Well, that was disappointing," he muttered out loud.

Just then, the door burst open, prompting Julien to jump in surprise. He was about to run for his life before the figure looked down at him.

"Father?"

It only took Julien a moment to realise what he was looking at. "Oh my..."

"Echo?"

* * *

"My precious creation, what in the world happened to you?" Julien had brought down his tools, scrubbing away at the rust covering the robot's entire body. "All this rust, all this neglect to your once-brilliant copper..."

Echo let out a soft laugh. "Father, I promise you that none of this damage affects my internal operations in any way. Please do not worry about me."

"As your creator, it is my duty to ensure that you are in the best working conditions possible!" Julien stopped scrubbing the rust away, putting the scrub aside as he picked up an oil can. "I am so sorry that I left you behind."

"Ah, so Terrell told you about the three years?" Echo tilted his head slightly. "Garmadon said that the brainwashing should have removed all your memories..."

"Brain-what now?" Julien nearly dropped the oil can. "We have been brainwashed?"

"That's why everyone doesn't remember the three years between the orientation and the first day Monokuma showed up." Echo took the scrub, scrubbing down his arm. "Garmadon told me about that."

"You have certainly changed a lot from the last time I saw you," Julien admitted. "Is it true that Garmadon has been working with the Mastermind?"

Echo nodded, wincing as Julien poured some oil into his joints. "Yes, and I fear that I may have caused his demise."

The roboticist let out a soft sigh. "Whatever happened could not have been your fault. Garmadon had dug his own grave from the start. If he had not worked with the Mastermind, there would be no consequences for his actions. Or even this stupid Killing Game, for that matter."

"Father-"

"Tell me, Echo." Julien roughly grabbed the robot's face, desperation seeping into his voice. "What kind of information did Garmadon tell the Mastermind?"

"Father, is something wrong?" Echo seemed confused by the roboticist's change in behaviour, trying to break free from his creator's grasp.

"Monokuma has used our family, sad events in our past, and even the climate to trick people into killing each other." Julien only grew rougher, nails denting Echo's soft copper shell. "Do you have any idea how messy things could get if our secrets were leaked?"

"I-I'm sorry Father, but that's the next motive."

* * *

"Ya better have a reason for calling us here, doc."

Julien had his head in his hands, his coat draped over his lap. "It is horrible. Just horrible."

Blake shared an uncomfortable look with Victoria, who shrugged in response. "Look," Griffin got up from his seat, "if you just called us here for fun, then you really need to get your priorities in check. We're still trying to escape, remember?"

"I have received intel that the next motive is going to be our greatest secrets," Julien finally explained. "I decided to warn all of you in case that intel turns out to be true."

"Pfft, and how exactly would the Mastermind know all of our secrets?" Jay snorted. "It's not like they know someone with them."

"Garmadon knows all of our secrets."

"Excuse me?" Kai looked back to Norman, who was chewing his thumb. "You've got to be joking."

The scout shook his head. "It's true. As a benefit– if you can even call it that –of my job, I know the secrets of Ultimates I've scouted. That's how I know some of your secrets. However," he bit down harder, drawing blood, "we have to report every detail about our scouted students to the Headmasters. I wouldn't be surprised if Garmadon has everyone's secrets."

"Son of a SNORK," Blake cursed, kicking a chair over. "Ya saying Garmadon might've outed us?"

"It's likely." Norman wiped the blood onto his tie, ignoring the red stain that was forming. "However, I think I have a solution to lessen the impact of the motive."

Kai's eyes widened in surprise. "You do?"

The scout hesitated, before nodding. "If we shared our worst secrets, it lessens the chance of Monokuma using a secret we don't know about. Thus, we wouldn't be too worried if Monokuma gives a secret that we already know about."

"But what about that?" Jay was pointing towards the camera hanging above them, a red light blinking as soon as he acknowledged its presence. "There aren't any rooms that don't have them."

Griffin chuckled in response. "You sure 'bout that?"

* * *

Griffin brought the group up to the locker rooms on the second floor, making sure to close the door behind them once everyone was inside. "I'm surprised that Monokuma didn't install those ID locks for this room."

"So, is this where you two have been sneaking off to after trials?" Victoria lightly punched Norman's shoulder, the scout pulling up his collar to hide his blush. "You're both ridiculous."

Julien cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Now that we finally have that annoying bear off our backs, does anyone want to go first?"

"Secrets, huh." Kai was investigating a locker, looking for anything he could wear aside from his usual outfit. "Monokuma would try and use stuff that involves us breaking the law, right?"

"What, are you implying that Monokuma's gonna threaten us with the number of times you've wet the bed?" Jay snickered when he saw Kai's face pale. "Oh god, you still wet the bed, don't you?"

"I DON'T!" Kai angrily slammed the door, which only made Jay laugh louder. "If I go first, will you just shut up?!"

"Well, if you're that confident that we won't shove you in a locker to starve, go right ahead."

Kai swallowed nervously, his mind scrambling for anything illegal he might have done. "Let's see, there's the time I lifted some bread from a grocery store."

"That's not incriminating enough," Zane commented.

"Hm," Kai looked around the room for anything to jog his memory, eyes falling on a toy car resting on a nearby shelf. "Oh, I once ran over someone. How's that?"

"On purpose?" Julien cocked an eyebrow. "If it was an accident, I doubt Monokuma would bother with that information."

"Yeah, on purpose." Kai kept his head low. "I'm not proud of it, but he broke my sister's heart. No one breaks Nya's heart. Not on my watch."

"Wow, talk about overprotective," Griffin rested against a wall, crossing his arms. "I'll go next, I guess. I committed arson once."

"And I covered up for him," Norman added. "I didn't want to, but my father forced me to."

Jay gave Griffin a disgusted look. "More death, great!" He glared at everyone, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Does anyone here have a secret not related to death?!"

Pin-drop silence.

"...you're all SNORKed." Jay lowered his hands in defeat. "Fine, I'm leaving. I haven't killed at least one man so I don't deserve to be in your little murder group."

He flashed a peace sign at the group before storming out of the room, earning a sigh from Zane. "I wouldn't be surprised if Jay's secret was something trivial, like stealing cookies from the cookie jar, or shoplifting."

"Students!" Monokuma's voice burst forth from the speakers, static rushing in to fill the silence. "Report to the gymnasium at once! I've got the next motive with me right now so get moving!"

"Ridiculous," Julien muttered as he left the locker room, with Zane following close behind. "Utterly ridiculous."

* * *

The Mastermind kicked their legs up onto the desk, eyes darting up and down the wall of monitors before them. A camera blinked above them, waiting for a request on the other end to activate.

"So, they think that telling their 'secrets' will save them from this round?" The Mastermind chuckled, grabbing a pile of documents and flipping through them. "Good thing my generals gave me more than one option to choose from."

A loud beep sounded above them, drawing their attention back to a few marked monitors. "Speak."

"Master, I'm afraid to say that we've lost the hostages." General 2 kept his eyes on something offscreen. "We don't know how it happened, but there's evidence suggesting an attack by a rebel group."

"I thought 3 took care of that group last week."

General 3 perked up at the mention of his name. "I did. Clouse even executed them in front of my group."

"Well that just means you didn't execute them hard enough!" The Mastermind slammed his fists on the desk. "Do you know how dangerous the hostages could be if the reach another rebel group?"

"Enough," 2 replied dutifully, "and I assure you, Master, that we are all aware of how dangerous they are. There is no need to remind us."

The Mastermind stared right into the camera, snarling. "Are you talking back to me, 2?"

2 immediately recoiled from his screen, shaking his head rapidly. "I-I could never talk back to you, Master!"

"You're all ridiculous," the Mastermind sat back in his chair, grabbing the documents again. "Is that all you guys had to report? Where are the other generals?"

"Generals 4 and 5 are occupied with another rebel group," 1 replied. "That's why they were unable to make it for this meeting."

The Mastermind merely nodded, throwing a few documents back onto the desk. "If that is all, you're all dismissed. I've got a motive to cook up."

With a beep, the camera shut off.

_**End Arc 3: Steel Up, Beat Down** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [here's a poll to see who the mega jerk is](http://www.strawpoll.me/14237286)


	26. Arc 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blake runs with a knife: the chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you put your left snork in you pull your left snork out you put you left snork in and you snork it all about you do the snorky-snorky and you snork yourself around that's what snork's all about

“You know, I really think that we’ll all have a chance of getting out of this SNORK alive.”

Blake took a long sip from his glass, keeping his eyes on Norman as he put it back down. “Ya really think so, Norman? After all that SNORK we went through, I’m quite excited to see what else could happen.” The scout merely glared in response, prompting him to laugh. “I’m just kidding. The less murders we have, the more people we’ll have in the end to kick the Mastermind’s SNORK when they show up.”

Victoria shook her head as she sat down beside the two, kicking her legs up onto the countertop. “I’m sick and tired of all these deaths. Sure, it’s been a while since Monokuma gave out the motive, but we can’t keep our stuff under wraps forever. Especially,” she glanced at Lou, “since some of us aren’t quite the people we used to be.”

The door to the bar opened, a curious Kai poking his head in as he took a look at the decor. “Wow, you guys got a whole room to yourselves and didn’t bother to tell the rest of us?”

“Get out of here, Kai.” Victoria poured herself a glass of scotch, passing the bottle back to Julien once she was done. “You’re not allowed in here.”

“Hey, but I’m old enough to drink too!” Kai pointed a finger at Norman, who quickly flipped him off. “He told me I was old enough to drink! He even gave me alcohol when we talked about his problems after Skylor’s trial!”

Julien cocked an eyebrow, putting the bottle of scotch back on the shelf. “Giles, is this true?”

Norman paused, swirling the wine in his glass as he thought of an answer. “Well…” He hid his smirk as he looked Julien in the eyes and said, “That’s an absolute lie, Julien. You and I both know that I’d never do something so irresponsible.”

Kai yelled something as he was pushed out of the bar, nearly biting Bolobo’s fingers off. “What a mess,” he muttered, locking the door once he had pushed the swordsman out fully. “I’ve locked the door.”

“Wonderful,” Zane said.

Everyone turned to look at the marksman, who was casually playing pool with Ash. “Son,” Julien shook his head in disappointment, “what are you doing here?”

“One, I’m old enough to be here if we factor in the supposed three years of lost memories,” he waited for Ash to shoot before continuing, “and two, I’m older than twenty.”

“You just said the same point twice,” Blake pointed out.

“And you’re the idiot who nearly got himself killed by Monokuma a few days ago, I don’t see why I should listen to you.” Zane aimed for the 8-ball, taking a deep breath before shooting. The cueball narrowly missed, landing in one of the pockets. “Well, that’s the end of that.”

“Hey guys,” Griffin popped up from behind a couch, his aviators misplaced somewhere. “I don’t mean to spoil the mood and everything, but isn’t today the day that Monokuma releases our secrets and stuff?”

“That’s exactly the reason we’re getting wasted, my dear.” Norman cracked open a can of beer, downing the contents in one go before throwing it over the counter. “More alcohol, less awareness of our surroundings.”

“Drunk or not, all of you better get your SNORKs down to the gym right now!” Monokuma’s voice blasted through the overhead speakers, earning soft protests from the conscious adults. “It’s punishment time!”

* * *

Once everyone had gathered in the gym, Monokuma leapt up onto the podium and cleared its throat. “Good evening to all of you lovely gentlemen,” it paused, “and our wonderful Last Girl Standing™, of course. I’m sure that you all know why we’ve gathered here today in our lovely gymnasium, the place where this amazing Academy Life of Mutual Killing started!”

“Just cut to the chase.” Blake pulled a butterfly knife out of his pocket, flipping it idly in his hand. “There’s no point in delaying the whole ‘punishment’. We’re all on the edge of our seats, barely able to hold back our excitement to know how everyone here has done something illegal in the past.”

“Ahem,” the bear stretched slightly, revealing a stack of papers behind its back. “As Terrell pointed out, we’re here today to reveal all the secrets I gave out last week as punishment for no one being killed. Unfortunately, I forgot to organise the secrets while the rounds were progressing, so I’ll be resorting to pulling out the secrets randomly and praying for the best.”

“Uh, Monokuma? You feeling okay there buddy?” Jay approached the podium, staring at the bear suspiciously. “You sound really down.”

“We ran out of exclamation points,” it replied, taking a paper out from the stack. “Besides, I thought you students didn’t want me shouting all the time. I felt that now would be the best time to give all of you a break, you know what I mean?”

“Oh, uh,” Jay hesitated, “that’s nice of you?”

“Normally, this would be the time for me to reply with a ‘But thanks for asking’, however…” Monokuma took out a paper from the stack, waving it in the air triumphantly. “I was lying the entire time! Now you pay the price for being naive!” It read the paper, an evil smile plastered on its face. “Oh, this is a good one. _‘Jay Walker invented the Memory Eraser, which caused a pilot to crash and kill an entire plane’s worth of passengers.’_ ”

“I what?!” Jay took a step away from the podium, shaking his head profusely. “I-I don’t remember anything of that kind!”

"You're the cause of all of this!" Norman clenched his fists, staring at Jay in disgust, who took a step back. "What, don't tell me you're afraid to have the rest of us find out the truth? Just how long have you been acting for?" Jay was starting to tremble, merely earning a laugh from the scout. "Oh, I see what's going on. Take it from a Talent Scout, you should really switch talents with Camellia. With those crocodile tears of yours, I almost mistook you for a professional actor.”

"O-okay Norman, timeout." Griffin pulled Norman away from Jay, making sure to keep him as far away from the teen as possible.

“Next up,” Monokuma tossed Jay’s paper into the air, replacing it with another piece of paper. “[JOKE LOST IN SNORKLATION], the Last Girl Standing™!”

“It’s Victoria Faust, smartSNORK.” Blake aimed the knife at the bear. “If you’re gonna applaud her for being the last girl still alive, the least you could do is show her some respect.”

“Ah, shut it,” it started to read the paper, “ _‘Victoria Faust used to sell drugs on the street, and killed a ‘coworker’ when he threatened to reveal the entire operation.’_ ”

Victoria gasped in shock. “I didn’t kill anyone! That one guy who died—“

The bear cut her off. “We don’t need to know, and we probably don’t care, so shut up.” Victoria’s paper joined Jay’s on the ground. “Now I was planning on telling Kai Smith and Griffin Turner’s secrets, but from what I know, they’ve already told you guys! Kai ran over someone, and Griffin killed quite a few people by setting them on fire with his sick mixtape.” Ignoring the responses from the duo, it moved on to the next paper. “Hm, Cobalt Julien’s? This is a juicy one, but maybe I should leave it for later. That means Blake Terrell’s up next, and—”

A knife flew past Monokuma, barely missing as it struck the curtain behind it. “Save your electronic breath, Monokuma. I’ll reveal it myself.”

“H-hey! Violence against the Headmaster is–”

Blake pushed the bear off the podium, earning a loud squeak as it landed on the ground. “Y’all want to know my secret? Then y’all gonna get it.” He took a deep breath, gripping on tightly to the podium. “I ain’t the Ultimate Shadow Puppeteer, neither former or current. See, Wu Garmadon would've had some explaining to do if he publicly announced my talent. After all,” he chuckled, “what’s a prestigious school like the Academy doing with a lone Ultimate Assassin like me? Killing off their rivals? Silencing protestors from the Reserve Course? Well, the answer to all of that is a loud and hearty ‘yes’!”

“Ya know what? I kinda like standing here.” Blake gently pushed the bear further away, rolling his eyes at the garbled static emitting from its speakers. “Might as well push it as far as I can and start reading out ya secrets. After all, y’all wouldn’t mind a different murderer with a much better voice reading out the worst things y’all have done in ya lives, right?” Not waiting for a response, he pulled out a paper from the stack, giving it a good read. “Let’s start with my dear cousin, Apollo. Surprisingly, he doesn’t have anything to hide.” Blake revealed the paper to be completely blank. “Same for Ash.”

“That leaves us with Zane, Bolobo, Nerdo, Lou, and Julien.”

Norman groaned. “That’s not my alias and you know it.”

“Nerdo next then!” Blake flashed a grin at the scout. “I don’t even need to look at your paper. After all, I’ve been sent to kill you several times~”

“J-just stop. I’ll tell them myself.” The scout hesitated. “I-I’m working for the Mafia. Or, uh, I used to work for the Mafia until this whole thing happened. My father’s the Godfather.”

“Thank you, Nerdo. Bolobo’s isn’t very special, he just sold some poisons to me and Nerdo,” he paused, “and now I gotta pick between Lou, Zane, and Julien.” He cast a glance at Monokuma, who was laying immobile on its back. “I’ll honour that stuffed toy and leave Julien’s for last. Zane’s, or Lou’s…?”

“I don’t have anything to hide,” Zane announced. “If you ignore the fact that I’ve killed people during my days as a mercenary, there’s nothing else that’s worse.”

“It says here that you…” Blake did a double take. “Uh, wow. That’s pretty messed up, kid.”

Kai snorted. “What, is the big and scary assassin disturbed by war?”

“No, but I _am_ disturbed by pedophilia.”

“Huh?” Zane looked up from his ElectroID. “What do you mean by pedophilia? I’ve never had sexual interactions with anyone or anything.”

“It says right here, _‘Zane Julien raped several children while overseas.’_ ” Blake threw the paper away in disgust. “From one killer to another, I’d like to let ya know that you’re one messed up piece of SNORK. Ya can’t just throw away your morals whenever you feel like it, kid. Ya gotta draw the line somewhere! What the SNORK's wrong with you?!”

“Hey, let’s just get on with the secrets.” Kai held his arm out, preventing Zane from going nearer to the stage. “We can bicker later.”

Blake reluctantly agreed. “Our second last person is Lou Brookstone, the resident heartbreaker… Quoting directly off his paper, he’s _‘Abused a bunch of women, manipulated them into fighting each other for his supposed love, which led to their deaths, then continued the process for a few years.’_ ” He fell silent, then forced a laugh, “Looks like Nerdo ain’t the only one he SNORKed up.”

“I don’t remember anything like that,” Lou slurred, struggling to stand upright. “Might be the alcohol talking, though.”

“Finally is Julien,” Blake took one look at the paper, before recoiling. “Oh come on. Ya can’t be serious…” Julien opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off by the assassin. “Do all Juliens just hate kids or something? This is getting ridiculous. Wait a sec,” he squinted at the paper, “wait one SNORKing second. Julien, you worked for the Mastermind?!”

“I… I what?”

“ _‘Cobalt Julien experimented on children, torturing them and performing vivisections on those who lived. All information was used to create the most human AI possible for his master: our very own Mastermind!’_ ” Blake paused. “Uh, for clarity, I’m not excited to hear or read this news. There just happened to be an exclamation point at the end of the sentence.”

* * *

After the reveal of the secrets, Blake ran off, disappearing from everyone’s sights. Victoria and Ash had gone after him, with Norman and Griffin by their side. Apollo had fainted, and with his cousin out of the picture, Zane carried the unconscious illusionist off to the Nurse’s Office. With nothing better to do, the remaining Ultimates gathered in the cafeteria.

“This is outrageous!” Julien slammed his hands on the table, knocking over Bolobo’s house of cards. “I would _never_  do anything of that sort towards anyone! Especially children!”

“Too bad, Doc.” Kai kicked his legs up onto the table. “Now everyone thinks you and Zane hate kids. Or loves kids, in Zane’s case.”

Julien let out a defeated sigh. “You do have a point. It is too late for us to do anything now.”

"Perhaps we should try and view this entire situation in a positive light?” Bolobo collected the fallen cards, before starting to rebuild the house he was making. “Instead of fighting amongst ourselves over past events, we could try and use those secrets to our advantage.” Noticing the confused stares from the two, he put the deck of cards back down on the table. “I meant to try and figure out who might be the Mastermind based off those secrets, you idiots.”

Kai laid his head on the table. “How the SNORK would we do that?”

“Well,” Bolobo went back to building the house, “we know the scouts that scouted us have our secrets. That means Neuro –– or Norman, whatever –– would have your batches’ secrets. That’s Jay, Zane, and you down.”

“Giles might have been a Talent Scout for quite some time, however, most of the students he scouted were not taking part in this game.” Julien, finally catching on, pulled out a notebook from his coat pocket. He jotted down a few names and slid it closer. “I was around when Giles took over. If my memory serves me right, no one else here was scouted by him. They were all scouted by the previous talent scout. And before you suggest what I suspect you are about to suggest,” Julien glared at Kai, “no, the previous talent scout could not have been in cahoots with the Mastermind. He died not long after Giles took over.”

“Yeah, he fell down the stairs while trying to stop Griffin from skateboarding and snapped his neck.” Bolobo shuddered. “Wasn’t a pretty scene.”

“That confirms that Garmadon’s working with the Mastermind,” Kai concluded. “Why, though? Maybe he owes the Mastermind a favour?”

A loud crash drew their attention to the ceiling, where a register had fallen off. A dust-covered face poked out from the new hole, yellow eyes seemingly glowing as he stared at the trio below him. With the grace of a gymnast, Blake landed on the table, flashing a Cheshire cat grin at Kai as he dusted himself off. “Heya.”

“‘sup,” Kai greeted, staring at Bolobo's failed attempt at a house of cards to avoid the assassin’s gaze. “You know that you’ve got a lot of explaining to do, right?”

“I don’t,” Blake calmly replied, “because I was just reading off the papers. Don’t shoot the messenger, kid.”

“I meant that you need to explain why you ran off, dumbSNORK.”

A shrug. “I thought that y’all would try to kill me after I revealed that I was a killer and all. Didn’t expect such a neutral reaction.”

Kai snorted at his answer. “Figures. Why are you here, anyway?”

Blake shrugged again. “I saw that y’all seemed to be having a discussion, so I decided to drop in.” He turned to Kai. “Listen, kid. Here’s some life advice from ol’ Blakey himself before y’all get back to ya conversation. Running from the former Ultimate Track Athlete’s a real pain in the SNORK, so either hide, or if he’s got a Giles by his side, stab ‘em where it hurts.”

Kai stared at him in silence.

It took Blake a moment to realise what he had said. “The, uh, the leg. Stab ‘em in the leg. So he can’t run. Anymore. Not the, uh, _that_ place. Gotta have some respect.”

“That _**SNORKER**_!”

Ash and Griffin burst into the cafeteria, a gun held tightly in the former Ultimate Volcanologist’s hands. Ash quickly took aim and fired at Blake, the assassin laughing at the missed shot before scampering off. Julien got up from his seat, walking over to them and smacking the gun away. “What the SNORK do the two of you think you're doing?” he scolded. “We do _not_ need any more casualties!”

Ash rolled his eyes, running after the assassin after picking up the gun again. “He stabbed Norman in the balls!” Griffin angrily explained. “Victoria’s trying her best to help him suture them right now! How would you feel if I stabbed Zane in the balls, huh?!” Kai and Bolobo snickered in the background, prompting him to glare at them. “Stop laughing, damn it! It’s not funny!”

“Stabbed testicles or none, that does not give you an excuse to start shooting at anyone.” Julien gripped his sleeves tightly, trying his best to calm down. “Please go after Ash and confiscate that firearm immediately. We shall dispose of that weapon via incinerator once you have retrieved it.”

“How about you go SNORK yourself,” Griffin grumbled, slowly walking in the direction Ash had gone in.

Kai knew something was off when he saw the roboticist clench his fists. Just when he was about to react, Julien socked Griffin in the face, causing the athlete to crash into the table. Julien followed it up with a punch to the stomach, earning a loud groan. “D-Doctor?” Bolobo tried to grab onto him, only to be shaken off. “Hey!” Julien kept ignoring him, landing blow after blow onto the defenceless man as a grin grew on his face. “Cobalt! Snap out of it!”

“ _Snap out of it!_ ” The roboticist mimicked, grabbing Griffin’s aviators and crushing them with his bare hands. He threw the athlete across the room, laughing maniacally. “ _Cobalt!_ ”

“ ** _STOP IT!_** ” Kai finally stepped in, drawing his katana and resting the point on Julien’s forehead. “Listen up Doc, I don’t know what the SNORK got into you, but if you don’t calm down right now, I’ll SNORK slap you into a coma with this sword.” He kept his blade steady as the roboticist fell to his knees, a choked sob escaping the older man’s lips. “Make a move. I _**DARE**_ you.”

Julien merely shook his head. “I-I…” he gulped. “I apologise for my irrational behaviour. W-when Turner did not seem bothered by Coy’s attempt to kill Terrell, something in me just… snapped. Perhaps,” a laugh, “Terrell was right. Only someone who acted like that could have been working with the Mastermind.”

Bolobo rolled his eyes as he carried the unconscious athlete nearer. “Working with the Mastermind or not, you kicked his SNORK quite well. Norman’s not gonna be happy when he sees Griffin in this state…”

“Doesn’t matter.” Kai sheathed his katana, sighing in relief. “As long as he’s not dead, we should be good to go.”

“Hey, where _did_ Ash and Blake run off to?”

* * *

Blake found himself curled up in a broom closet, hugging his knees close to his chest as he peeked out of the crack in the door. He watched as Ash put down the gun, letting out a loud sigh as he took off his gas mask. His hand slowly moved to the blade by his side, drawing it as quietly as he could while he waited for Ash to drop his guard. _“Damn it,”_ he thought to himself, _“I just had to miss and stab that idiot in the balls, didn’t I. Truly, a skilled assassin that’s worthy of being an Ultimate.”_

Ash finished reloading the gun, eyes flitting from the gun to the door. Putting the gun back in its holster, he patrolled the classroom, pausing briefly to add another chair to the barricade blocking the door. He forced out a loud grunt, a hoarse cough following soon after. Refusing to admit defeat, Blake held his breath, keeping still as the volcanologist approached the broom closet. Their eyes met for a split second, before Ash turned away yet again. With his back facing the broom closet, he started motioning with his hands, walking around the classroom as he repeated the same action over and over again. Blake bit his tongue, trying his best to ignore Ash’s request for him to leave his hiding spot.

Annoyed, Ash changed tactics, signing Blake a warning about how tired he was of their game of cat and mouse. He repeated his sentence twice, before drawing the gun and switching into a shooter’s stance. With a sigh, he turned around and emptied the magazine into the broom closet Blake was in. By pure luck, he missed the assassin with all six shots, earning a loud curse from him as he was forced to evacuate his hiding spot. “Dude, chill!” He scrambled to his feet, raising his hands above his head in surrender. “There! Ya got me to surrender, now put the stupid gun down.” Ash refused, using the gun to gesture towards the assassin’s knife. “SNORK no. I ain’t dropping this thing.”

Taking a step forward, the younger man kept his grip on the gun steady, anticipating a counterattack at any moment. To his surprise, Blake merely bent down, placing his knife on the ground between them. “Slowly now, see?” Blake raised his hands once again. “No need to be violent.”

In return, Ash returned the gun to its holster, taking his eyes off the assassin. Blake tensed, his entire body telling him to take the opportunity and pounce. He fought the urge to pick up the knife, every limb shaking intensely as he kept his eyes on Ash.

He had to move.

He did not know what it would do, yet he let his body move.

Blake realised it was a grave mistake the moment their lips met.

* * *

Victoria roamed the halls, a makeshift smoke grenade held tightly in her hand. Her mind was a complete mess, her worry for Ash clouding her mind. Was sending him ahead a bad idea? Should she have made an extra grenade? Perhaps she should have left Norman by himself? Standing outside the classroom they had agreed to check, she hesitated. No screaming, no gunshots. Was she too late? Had she really sent the mute volcanologist to his doom? Bracing herself for the worst, she charged into the classroom…

…only to find Ash slapping Blake in the face with the gun they had stolen from Zane’s room.

“Wow.” Victoria let out a low whistle, feigning surprise at her findings. “Either one of you care to fill me in on the spicy details of why Blake just got pistol-whipped?”

“No.”

“Fair enough.” Victoria helped Ash back on his feet, unsure of what else to say. “Uh, the whole stabbing Norman in the balls thing…”

“Accident. I was tired from running away, and my hand slipped while trying to stab him in the thigh.” Blake picked up his knife, sheathing it nonchalantly. “Is he okay? He was my best rival, I’d hate to see him die just because I stabbed him in the nuts.”

Ash made a beeline for his mask, ignoring the assassin’s question completely. “Well,” Victoria tried her best to hold back her laughter. “You can kinda say he’s fine. You missed everything vital, so he’s still going to have two testicles at the end of the day. Look, I even brought you a gift.” She pulled out a pair of bloody gloves and tossed them at Blake, who promptly recoiled in disgust. “I don’t blame you for acting irrationally, but next time? Please try and stab your victims somewhere else. Somewhere which doesn’t force me to have to stare at a nutsack for a few hours, preferably. I’d really appreciate it, and so would the victim. Oh, and Norman sends his regards.”

Blake carefully shook off the gloves, struggling to keep a straight face as he purged the image of a stabbed ballsack from his mind. “Oh yeah? What did he say?”

“He wants you to go SNORK yourself.”

“Well tell him that I’ll film myself doing that once he gets his pissed off boyfriend off my back.”

Out of the blue, Kai walked into the classroom, a look of amusement replacing his confused frown once he laid eyes on Blake. “I see you guys found the Ballsack Stabber.”

“Don’t call me that,” Blake grumbled, getting back on his feet. “I meant to stab his leg, not his damned balls. I have respect for my rivals, okay?”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you stabbed him,” Kai snarked. “Thought I’d come by and see who won the game of hide and seek, but it seems like I was too late for the victory speech.”

Ash came back, nodding slightly to Kai as a greeting. “Ash won,” Victoria said, “but he doesn’t want to tell me what happened.”

The assassin rolled his eyes. “Let’s just say my instincts are bad.”

“If you say so.” Kai eyed the pile of chairs near the door, most of them broken from Victoria’s forced entry. “Oh, right. I wanted to ask you guys something. It’s about Dr. Julien.”

“Listen kid. The Doc’s pretty careful with what he shares with people.” Blake sat on one of the tables, stretching slightly. “If ya want dirt on him, you've got two options: Zane, or Lou. Choosing between the two is gonna be tough, but if ya want a second opinion, I’d say to go for Lou. I mean, you two are close, no?” Kai shuddered, earning an awkward laugh from him. “Okay, maybe you two aren’t close. But if you’re really desperate for information, he’s your best bet. Zane’s foolishly loyal to his dad, so he’s likely to hide more things from you, while Lou, he’s SNORKing SNORK-”

Victoria stopped Blake before he could continue. “You get the idea,” she finished. “Sing the notes he wants to hear and you’ll hear the tweety bird sing right back.”

The swordsman considered his options, sighing when he realised he did not have a better choice. “Well, thanks for the help guys. Time to go impersonate Cole…” He paused. “Again.”

* * *

Kai impatiently knocked on Lou’s door, fiddling with his swords as he waited for a reply. His hands moved up to his hair, hesitating for a moment before flattening his spikes, combing the stray strands to try and match Cole’s hairstyle. Minutes passed, the swordsman’s patience slowly wearing thin as he kept waiting. Just as he was about to knock again, the door swung open, missing him by a hair’s breadth. He soon found himself face to face with the former Ultimate Dancer, who snarled. “May I help you?”

Taking a deep breath, Kai forced a smile on his face. “Oh, hey Dad,” he mimicked, fighting the urge to scream. “It’s me, your son. You know, Cole?”

The change was almost instant as a relieved smile grew on Lou’s face. “Ah, my lovely child. What brings you here today? I thought you were off playing with Miss Chen?”

“Actually, can we talk inside?” Kai mentally beat himself up for saying that. Being alone with the mentally unstable man more than twice his age was probably not a good idea. “I want to ask you something really important. It’s for a school project, you see. Zane’s sick so we can’t directly interview Dr. Julien, and Miss Fox suggested for me to just ask you about him.”

“My son? Interviewing me for his school project?” Lou practically squealed with delight. “Why, I’d be a fool to turn down such a prestigious request! Come on in!” He stepped aside for Kai to enter. “I’ll grab some honey lemon tea from the cafeteria, then I’ll be right back with you!” With that, he left with a skip in his step.

All alone, Kai took the opportunity to observe the dancer’s room, nearly throwing up when a pungent smell overwhelmed his senses. Clothes were strewn about the room, blazers and suit jackets mixed together in one large pile. The bed was unkempt, one of the two pillows missing completely. Music sheets littered the floor, leaving little space for the swordsman to stand without slipping. He carefully stepped over the sheets, holding his breath as the smell got stronger. Slowly, he approached the bathroom, getting ready to burst in when he stepped on something. Out of instinct, he looked down, immediately growing pale when he saw the crimson liquid staining the music sheet he had stepped on.

What had he gotten himself into.

After what felt like ages, Lou came back, a teapot and two cups in hand. “Sorry for the wait, Cole.” He set the teapot down on the nightstand, pouring the tea into the two cups and passing one to Kai. “Cobalt refused to let me near the stove, so I had to wait for him to heat up the pot for me.”

“I-it’s okay, Dad.” Kai took a sip from his cup, surprised by the strong taste of honey. “Can we start the interview now? I need to meet up with Kai later to compare what we’ve gotten.”

“Of course!” Lou flashed a confident smile. “Don’t be afraid to ask me everything!”

“Then, uh,” Kai gulped, “let’s start with what you know about Julien. Career-wise.”

Lou cleared his throat. “Very well then. Cobalt Julien started inventing at the age of 14, when his school held a science fair for the first time. His very first creation was a robot that poured whatever liquid it was filled with, however he was left in second place when the robot accidentally spilt gasoline onto a judge’s clothes. When he was 17, he got invited to join Wu’s Academy for Gifted Individuals as the Ultimate Roboticist Engineer, which he gladly accepted. During his third year, he was offered an internship with a famous engineer, who was looking for a lab assistant.” He took a sip. “That engineer was Cynthia Borg, mother of Cyrus Borg.”

“The founder of Borg Industries?”

“Indeed. That was where he met his wife-to-be,” he waved his hand dismissively. “But she’s not important to the story. He graduated at the age of 21, and moved on to help Cyrus, who had started Borg Industries at that time. Not long after Zane was born, they started getting experimental with AI. A few years later into the project, however, Cyrus kicked Cobalt off the project for ‘disagreements’. Perhaps,” he thought for a bit, “what Terrell had said was the true reason he was kicked off?” There was a long pause before he shook his head. “Impossible. Cyrus used Cobalt’s data for the final product, if Terrell spoke the truth then there would have been no way Cyrus would use it…”

Kai gave Lou sometime to mumble as he tried to piece together the information. “Hey, Dad? Did Julien ever use the data for anything else?”

“Yes, actually.” Lou poured himself a fresh cup of tea. “Echo Zane was made using the initial data, and Titanium Zane was made from the final data.”

“Initial data?” Kai thought to himself, drowning out Lou’s ramblings. “That does explain why Echo acts so childlike, while Titanium seems a bit more mature. But…”

“It’s such a pity, you know.” The dancer sighed. “Julien used to be such a friendly person. He wouldn’t hesitate to offer his help at the smallest of problems, but ever since he got kicked off the project, he’s become so much colder. Who would have thought that a simple dispute would lead to such a drastic change in character?”

“I’d love to stay and talk about Julien until the cows come home,” Kai interrupted his rambling, putting his cup back on the nightstand. “But there’s been something else on my mind as of late.” He made sure he had Lou’s attention before continuing. “How have you been lately?”

The dancer fell silent, his gaze lowered to the ground. They sat in silence, the teen panicking when he realised what he might have said was out of character. “H-hey, uh…”

“Oh, who am I kidding.” Lou shook his head slowly. “Cole’s dead. You’re Kai Smith, not my son…” Kai felt the guilt come crashing down on him, gripping tightly to his shirt as the dancer forced a laugh. “He’s never coming back. No amount of acting will bring back the ones we’ve lost.” He wiped his tears away. “You saw the blood, didn’t you? It’s… it’s just the way I cope with this kind of stress. Picked it up from Giles while our relationship was going downhill. This habit... I’m trying to kick it. I know it isn’t good for my health, but no matter how hard I try, I just… I just keep crawling back to it. Tell me, Kai,” he looked Kai in the eyes. “Do you find me pathetic?”

“I…” Kai was at a lost for words. “I don’t…”

“Shut it.” Lou got up from the bed, averting his gaze from the teen. “I already know what you’re going to say. You’re going to say no. Deny the truth. Ignore everything I’ve done while we’ve been trapped here for three SNORKING years. The only problem?” He started to laugh. “I know what we’ve done. Monokuma gave me the truth a while back. Every little thing we’ve said, the sins we’ve committed, everything the ex-headmasters did to ‘protect’ us as the world burned for our sakes…”

“You…” Kai was astounded. “You remember? You remember the three years?”

“Of course I do. That was Monokuma’s present to me for putting on such a grand show during the first trial.” Lou took a bow towards the camera. “I, Lou Brookstone, was given the gift of memory.”

“D-do you know about Nya?” A voice in his head told him to run. Get as far away as possible from the dancer. “My sister? Do you know what happened to her?”

“Why, yes I do!” Lou readjusted his bowtie, tugging the sleeves of Cole’s hoodie. “I know everything that happened to her. The question is…”

A wide grin grew on his face.

_“Are you ready for the truth?”_

_**End Arc 4: Ceasefire** _

* * *

 

_**Proceed with Arc 5?** _

~~Yes~~  
~~No~~  
_**> Save Progress** _

_Progress saved. Proceeding with Arc 5..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah arc 4's just one chapter, love y'all
> 
> [vote pls](http://www.strawpoll.me/14237286)

**Author's Note:**

> 'sup SNORKS. welcome to my SNORKhouse.


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